The Itinerant Poetry Library

Visit The Itinerant Poetry Library website
Since May 2006, The Itinerant Poetry Librarian has been travelling the world with a library of ‘Lost & Forgotten’ poetry, installing the library & librarian and archiving the sounds, poems and poetry of the cities, peoples and countries she meets. Welcome to the project's blog . . . Our Itinerant Poetry Librarian lives wherever her library is - come join the cause!

FAQs: • Yes we carry our entire life and the library with us as we go • Yes, it is quite heavy • No, we're not mad. As Charles Simic said, 'But what if poets are not crazy?' That's the spirit boyo!

We exist to: remind people of the importance of free public libraries...subvert mainstream channels of distribution...remind people that access to knowledge should be free and not dependent upon economic wealth hierarchies... show people that poetry/art can provide answers to questions we ask of life...experiment in existing outside of 'the market' – thereby, instead, investing in social capital, social innovation and community.

We aim to make life taste better. Word.

Where have we been . . . ?

(2006) Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Munich, Paris, Barcelona, London, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Norwich, York, Antwerp, (2007-2008) San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Leipzig, (2009) Ulm, Chemnitz, Rotterdam, Huntingdon, Callander, (2010) Cork, St. Andrews . . . Where'd you like us to go? Can you help? Get in touch!

What We Are Up To Right Now . . .


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Monday 1 May 2006

Europe ConVerses: Mission Statement

Our original mission statement for the European library tour:

A poetic dialogue & collaboration between the poets of Europe: What do we as 'poets of europe' have to say & why & how do we say it . . . Do we say the same things? Do our 'nation' hats mould us? What is it that makes us think saying 'it' via poetry will work? Hmm. I'm not sure I'll get any definitive answers but hey I just want to at least have a go . . . A Poetry Podcast tour & touring Poetry Library & PoetryArt installation in a town, village or garden shed near you somewhere in Europe today!

So what are we doing exactly?

We are touring a poetry library round Europe.

We are carrying this all in a rucksack on our back.

We are also couchsurfing the whole way as we can’t afford to pay for hotels, hostels, beds, floors or really anything except maybe a meal a day. oh yeah, and coffee obviously.

We definitely can’t afford our usual Guardian newspaper habit thas for sure.

We are interviewing poets at each place we get to. And producing a podcast, i.e. MP3 audio file of the sounds and poets and stuff we hear along the way, from each city or country.

Why?

Because we had the idea in bed one day. And we sold all our belongings, quit our job, and moved out of where our former roof was.

Just so we could bring a poetry library to the people. Cos hey, if the people can’t get to the library, well, we’re just gonna have to bring it to ’em.

Don’t forget that we love technology so much, that alongside our podcasts, this blog, and the Google Earth map of our journey, you can also text our poetry librarian to find out where she is right now.

Text the word POETRY to +447797805300 (text charged@yr own network rate) and you’ll get a FREE automatic text message back with our current library address so you can turn up and join! Are we crazy? No. Look, we can spell complicated words like gynandromorphic without looking them up. Do we like poetry? Er, a little, yes. Are we skint? Definitely. So you can click on our PayPal donate button if you feel like it. Do you like our Blog? We certainly hope so . . . leave a comment or email us with questions (for poets), queries, or just some advice if you like. Read on and enjoy.

at 09:00

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