Get involved in Poemathon with Older People 2022 and write a line of poetry!
Poetry Ireland with the Global Brain Health Institute (Trinity College Dublin) and Creative Brain Week is looking for individual contributions which will be combined to form a collaborative poem capturing the thoughts and imaginings of older people right now on the theme of climate crisis.
Entries open until 5pm on Monday 28 March.
Former President of Ireland and Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice at Trinity College Dublin, Mary Robinson, has penned the opening line of the poem: “Growing up we did not know; now we need to mend.”
Submit your line of poetry here
Poemathon with Older People 2022
Mary Robinson said, “It’s wonderful to see the Poemathon with Older People focusing on the climate crisis as its theme and bringing together the voices of an older generation through the shared experience of creating a poem. As we get older, we think more often about our legacy and picture the world that will be inherited by the next generations. I look forward to seeing how the contributors to the Poemathon engage with the idea that now is the time we need to mend.”
Niamh O’Donnell, Director of Poetry Ireland, said “We’re delighted that Mary Robinson has joined us for this year’s project. Last year’s Poemathon brought together rich thoughts and feelings on the Covid-19 pandemic from hundreds of contributors – we’re looking forward to seeing all the lines of poetry in response to this year’s timely and impactful theme,” she said.
The Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin is one of the partners in the Poemathon project.
“As an Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), I work to promote brain health for the world’s aging populations,” said Dr Francesca Farina. “I am delighted that GBHI is supporting the Poemathon in partnership with Poetry Ireland and Creative Brain Week. Our brain health is inextricably tied to the richness of the physical world. Addressing the climate crises is therefore essential in safeguarding the well-being of individuals and our societies at large.”
The Open University in Ireland is offering a Start Writing Poetry course
If you’ve always wanted to write poetry, this course introduces the basic ‘tools of the trade’ from writing haikus and sonnets to satire and parody.
