Verse goes up on the busesas part of National Poetry Day

Alexandra Wood

BUS passengers are being given the chance to muse over the poetry of one of the country’s greatest writers.

Excerpts from poetry by Philip Larkin will go up in 40 buses in Hull today to coincide with National Poetry Day.

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The poems – in spots normally occupied by advertisements – will be on show until December when the Larkin25 festivities conclude with the unveiling of a statue by sculptor Martin Jennings at the city’s Paragon Station.

They include extracts from the upbeat Days to the bleak This be the Verse.

East Yorkshire Motor Services chief executive Peter Shipp said: “We have supported Larkin25 celebration through a number of activities this year – even naming one of our buses Philip Larkin.

“We are offering free books to local schools in conjunction with Hull Council and East Riding Council Library Service, and I am delighted to have been able to offer this innovative way of bringing Larkin’s poetry to people travelling in Hull and the East Riding on board on of the 40 buses taking part in the Poetry on the Buses project.”

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The project mirrors the successful Poems on the Underground which is now in its 25th year in London and been copied in cities throughout the world.

Director of Larkin25 Emily Penn said: “We know that Larkin25 projects have already led more people to explore Larkin’s work, and poetry in general, not least the Larkin with Toads public art event that concluded with the spectacular public auction at Fruit.

“We hope this project will encourage even more people to take another look at Larkin.”

As part of National Poetry Day there are several events including a reading by local poets June English and Thelma Laycock, and an opportunity for others to read their own work, at Hull Central Library from 2pm to 3.30pm today.

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An exhibition called If Shelves Could Talk... also opens today at the Central Library. Poet Amanda Lowe has spent time in Hull libraries finding out what the library means to the staff and visitors and then creating a poem for each library that attempts to sum up its character.

The 16 poems have been published as postcards, with photographs of the library on the front and the words on the back.

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