Saturday, 9 May 2009

Poetic People (8): Poetic Portraits

Poets have been much in the news recently, and are likely to be again on Saturday, when the new Oxford Professor of Poetry will be elected.

I have just returned from Canada House in London, where Doreen Hinchliffe was awarded £1000 first prize (general section) at the Final Awards Ceremony of the Petra Kenney Poetry Competition. While I was in London, I had the opportunity of visiting the Faces of Poetry exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Alongside photographic portraits of (among others) Owen Sheers, Jo Shapcott and Gillian Allnutt, it was good to see painted portraits of Derek Walcott (by Ross Wilson) and Seamus Heaney (by Tai-Shan Schierenberg). If you are in the area, do take a look at this small but inspiring exhibition.

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