Jack Trelawny School Author Blog: Poetry Parnassus - poets to gather in London during 2012 Olympics

Poetry Parnassus - poets from every Olympic nation to gather in London in June 2012
The Southbank Centre will be the venue for free poetry events during the London 2012 Olympics. Organisers of the Cultural Olympiad event are still looking for artists from 23 countries, and need the public to help them by nominating poets.

'It is a happy thing that there is no royal road to poetry.

The world should know by this time that one cannot reach Parnassus except by flying.'

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Poetry used to be part of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece.

Mount Parnassus

Mount Parnassus is a mountain in central Greece which, in mythology, was the home of the nine daughters of Zeus, the Muses, who were thought to be the inspiration for knowledge and culture. As the home of the Muses, Parnassus became known as the home of poetry, music, and learning.

At 'the biggest gathering of poets in history', 204 poets (one from every competing nation) will gather at the 'Poetry Parnassus' on the banks of the Thames this summer, to celebrate poetry from around the world during the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Poetry Parnassus, a week-long series of poetic events at the end of June, will see poets, rappers, storytellers, and praise singers reading their work in more than 50 languages, from Haitian creole to Maori, with the event to open as 100,000 poems are dropped from a helicopter on to the waiting crowd.

Thousands of nominations have already been received from the public for the best poet in their country.

However, organisers are still looking for artists from 23 countries, and would welcome suggestions from the public for poets from Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Dominica, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Palau, Papua New Guinea, American Samoa, Seychelles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.

Do you know a good poet who could represent one of these 23 countries?

Nominate a poet for Poetry Parnassus

See the links below for more info and Launch Tickets.

Sources and More Information:
The Guardian Newspaper
London 2012 Festival
Launch Tickets
Poetry Parnassus Venue: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
'The world’s poets are coming to London - meet them, hear them and celebrate with them at Southbank Centre. There are over 100 free events, activities and workshops happening every day throughout the festival. The world’s most exciting poets, rappers, spoken word artists, singers and storytellers are gathering for this huge event that will make history as the largest poetry festival ever staged in the UK. Keep checking the website for further updates or pop along on the day to find out what’s on.'

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See you next time in the Story House.

Happy writing... and reading!

Jack

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