Poet Laureate set to celebrate our canal
ROY Mcfarlane FRSL the Canal Poet Laureate will be launching Create and Connect’s new book Poetry by the Canal on Friday, February 9. The book is a large print anthology of poems inspired by the Rochdale Canal and funded by Grantscape.
Elizabeth White of Create and Connect, organiser of the project, said: “Roy Macfarlane is a well-known poet and we are looking forward to hearing him read from his work. His latest book “Living by Troubled Waters’ has received excellent reviews.”
Tickets are available FREE on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/poetry-booklaunch-poetry-by-thecanal-tickets.
Poet Roy Mcfarlane grew up in Birmingham and the Black Country, surrounded by canals.
He says, “I lived, played and loved by canals and rivers and am looking forward to recapturing those stories; tales of diverse communities in urban settings who lived with canals in their backyard.”
During lockdown, Roy, like many people, spent a lot of time outdoors.
He retraced routes along his local canal towpath and has developed a newfound understanding of how waterways can become sites and spaces for wellbeing and an aid to mental health.
Roy began his role as Canal Laureate in December 2021, following in the wake of poets Nancy Campbell (Canal
Laureate 2018-9), 2021 Forward Prize-winning Luke Kennard (2016-17) and Jo Bell (inaugural Canal Laureate, 2013-15).
During his Laureateship, Roy is interested in exploring how people feel about their local canals currently, and how our national and global history can be read in the story of the canal network’s development.
He adds: “I’ll be exploring stories of women, labour and migration in the building of these canals, and how that contributed to the Industrial Revolution with its hidden histories of colonialism and imperialism.”
Roy is both writing his own poems, and working with various groups of canal users, including boaters, to create new collaborative works.
His first project involved a canal walk on the shortest day of the year, followed by return visits on the Equinoxes and the longest day.
Other projects with a wellbeing, nature or history focus are following - including Poetry by the Canal.
Richard Parry, chief executive at Canal and River Trust, said: “Every one of our Canal Laureates has shown us the waterways through new eyes. Roy is passionate about telling the stories of people, places, and history: topics that resonate in the Trust’s work.
Growing up in the heart of canal country, his perspective on the changing nature of the waterways and their growing importance in the wellbeing of local communities is exciting. I am delighted to welcome Roy as our new Canal Laureate and look forward to hearing the stories he finds to tell.”
Judith Palmer, Director of the Poetry Society, said: “We’re really proud of the new work that’s been created through our longstanding partnership with the Trust. Rivers have never been short of glory, but it was time canals began to receive the attention they were due.
“Now there’s a vibrant new body of work which celebrates the many ways canals touch our lives, with poems responding to the people, places, history, and wildlife of our amazing canal network.
“We can’t wait to see how Roy Mcfarlane opens up new perspectives on the UK’S canals over the months ahead.”
Established in 2013 by The Poetry Society and the Canal and River Trust, the Canal Laureateship aims to encourage
exciting new writing about Britain’s historic canal network. Previous Laureateships have seen poems stencilled onto towpaths in biodegradable paint, designed into new lock-beams, and translated into short films. Poets have drawn on conversations with boaters and engineers, kayakers, lockkeepers, and litter-pickers, delved into archives, and given new life to forgotten classics in performances, publication, and animations.
Canal poetry has been celebrated at venues and events including: the Hay Festival, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Birmingham Literature
Festival, National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port, London’s Southbank Centre and Crick Boat Show, Braunston Historic Boat Show, Welshpool Poetry Festival, Market Bosworth Festival, Leeds Liverpool Biennial, and in a dedicated canal edition of BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please.
The project is part of the Arts on the Waterways programme, a partnership between the Canal & River Trust and Arts Council England to attract new audiences for both the waterways and the arts, working with a range of partners and engaging actively with local communities.