“Island Poets, Island Places”  A Celebration of the Poetry Society Centenary, 1909-2009 on the Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight has a vigorous and growing Poetry Society Stanza  which was one of the first to form.  For the Centenary year, events are being planned at a national and local level, many of them in partnership with the National Trust which is making available its sites, land and properties to help in the celebrations.

Edmund Matyjaszek provides details of the Isle of Wight Stanza and writes:

“The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 and in 2009 celebrates its Centenary.

It is the National Society for poetry, the art in which the English Language has found its highest form of expression – from Chaucer to Shakespeare, from Tennyson to Ted Hughes.

It is still owned and run by its members, with an independent board of trustees and a membership that has grown and developed in recent years. The Poetry Society works in schools, publishes the premier journal “Poetry Review”, advises the government and other bodies, and is active throughout the country to fulfil its stated purpose to promote “the study, enjoyment and use” of poetry.

The Poetry Society works locally through over 60 “Stanzas” in the UK and abroad. Stanzas are groups of members that meet and support poetry in their own area. The Isle of Wight has a vigorous and growing Stanza that was one of the first to form.

For the Centenary year, events are being planned at a national and local level. The National Trust has set up a partnership with the Society and is making available its sites, land and properties to help in the celebrations.

On the Island, this involves a whole series of activities for the Centenary Year, including:

Island Voices Open Poetry Competition
Island At War Writing Program with schools based on visits to NT sites
Sea, Shore & Coastline Open Mic & Performance Poetry at Ryde Arts Festival
Workshops and Readings Community based groups
The Poet and the Place Readings at Farringford for the bi-centenary

The aim is to celebrate the Centenary with specific reference to the Island itself, bearing in mind the Island’s considerable heritage of history and literature, with Tennyson, Keats, Swinburne, and WH Auden for example having particularly close association with the Isle of Wight by birth, residence or through their writings.”

A list of events taking place include:

Island Voices Poetry Competition more details HERE:

June 30th: Exploring Tennyson, evening of talk and music, Brian Hinton and Paul Armfield, at Farringford 6pm.

July 1st: Walking in Tennyson’s footprints, Poetry Workshop led by Andrew Motion and Felicity Fair Thompson 10.30 am-4.30 pm, at Farringford.

July 1st:  An evening of Poetry with Andrew Motion , 7.30pm, at Farringford Further Details

July 8th:  Newman, Tennyson & Victorian Gothic, reading at St Mary’s Church Hall, Ryde 7.00pm including Tennyson’s poems

July 16th:  Sea Shore & Coastline, evening of readings, sea shanties and an Open Mic on the theme, St Thomas’s church, Ryde, 8pm

August 6th: Tennyson’s birthday celebration at Farringford. Two lectures on Tennyson’s life and writing on the Island, with afternoon tea 4.30-6.00pm.

August 7 th: for 5 weeks, exhibition ‘Tennyson at Farringford’ (free entry)

September 30th:  Final date of submission to Island Voices Poetry Competition

October 28th:  Gerald Manley Hopkins-Priest and Poet, reading at St Mary’s Church Hall, Ryde, 7.00pm

November 14th: Final Celebratory Event, announcement of poetry competition winners and prize-giving, readings, close of centenary year, Quay Arts ,Newport, 3-6 pm

Many of the planned events are being supported by the West Wight Landscape Partnership and by Farringford, home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson on the Isle of Wight. For more information on the Isle of Wight Poetry Society visit website link HERE: Poetry Society Stanza