Poet in Lockdown invites you to share your experiences in verse
A JPIMedia columnist is inviting readers to send in their poems about staying safe at home during lockdown.
Ian McMillan, Bard of Barnsley and famed TV and radio star, has been appointed his town’s Poet in Lockdown,
He is creating new sonnets to keep a lasting record of how life has changed for us all staying safe inside to beat coronavirus.
Barnsley Museums has commissioned him to also inspire others to write and share poetry about staying safe at home.
Those wanting to share their work should upload it to social media as words, photograph or performed, using video or audio, including the hashtag #poetinlockdown.
Ian, who launched the campaign with a sonnet every night over the Easter weekend, will highlight other people’s contributions every Tuesday and Thursday night, at 8pm. starting on April 21.
The initiative links to Barnsley Museums’ Hear My Voice Programme which encourages expression through poetry and spoken word.
The lockdown poetry will be preserved to give future generations an insight into how life changed during the pandemic.
Ian, stepping in for the town’s current Poet Laureate Eloise Unerman, who is working hard with her NHS colleagues, said: “I was thrilled to be asked to be Poet In Lockdown. These really are unprecedented times and this project is a perfect way to get us all writing poetry about it at home, to let future generations know what it was really like.”
Poet in Lockdown is part of Barnsley Museums’ digital programme that is helping to keep the borough’s communities entertained, active and inspired whilst at home, including online jigsaws of its art work, 360 degree museum tours and planned Facebook watch party screenings of nostalgia films.
Coun Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesman for place (regeneration and culture) said: “We really are living in unprecedented times and it is important for us to document how it is impacting on us as individuals and our communities.
“Ian’s sonnets are not only an opportunity to relax and enjoy his brilliant work but to capture this historic moment in time. We really hope that this will inspire others to do the same and find an outlet for their feelings and thoughts through the written word.”