Presented at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, each poet demonstrated poetry is an art form equal to any other artistic discipline. As artists, they demonstrate a good poet can not only handle challenging and delicate material, but articulate issues in ways that are both subtle and deceptively powerful. Last night’s event was a perfect platform offering a documentation of human experience. This ensemble effortlessly conveyed explanations and their interpretations of modern society, covering issues such as the legacy of colonialism, international regionalism, the tyranny of regimes and the ethics of vegetarianism, to name a few. In full agreement with William Wordsworth’s quote that “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’’, these wordsmiths evoked emotion and engagement with simplicity and conviction from the very start.
It is appropriate to celebrate the library’s history at this year’s Poetry International Festival, and long may the National Poetry Library’s success continue. Founded by Ted Hughes in 1967, the Poetry International Festival returned for the first time since 2019, this time as part of the Southbank Centre’s multi-artform season of events focused on the climate, Planet Summer. The season ends Sunday 3rd September. For more information on the National Poetry Library, the Poetry International Festival, and Planet Summer visit the following links.
Photos: Yang Lian (main) Belinda Zhawi and John Kinsella by Pete Woodhead (Provided, courtesy of the Southbank Centre
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