We attended the annual Poetry Prom at Snape last night, and thoroughly enjoyed engaging presentations from two world-class poets who had flown in from the USA,
Naomi Shihab Nye and
Mark Doty.
It was
Ellen McAteer's first Poetry Prom as Director of
The Poetry Trust, and it was good to be able to exchange a few words with her at the end.
Naomi is described by
The Poetry Trust as 'a passionate cross-cultural ambassador whose engaging grounded poems are
a call for peace and international goodwill in these troubled times.'
There was sensitivity (Mark Doty's poem about an encounter with a young goat and Naomi Shihab Nye's piece about an unexpected gift). There was style - and huge appreciation from the audience.
Mark Doty read a hot-off-the-block (or tablet/iPad) poem which he had just written as a result of a call from the States.
I bought a signed copy of Naomi's collection,
A Maze Me, which I much look forward to reading.
It was a lovely occasion, and a chance to mingle with friends in the book signing queue, and over coffee and chocolate brownies in the interval.
