A Final Thought

Poetry in the face of adversity

by RICHARD DJJ BOWDERY

The COVID 19 pandemic has affected us all to a greater or lesser degree these past two years. Either you caught it, knew someone who had, or had restrictions imposed on you because of it. For many that experience came with negative emotions and feelings, which is possibly why there is such an uptake of poetry, either written or read, at times like these.

Poetry can often reflect our thoughts, define the undefinable and console us in our anxiety. Isn’t this why greeting cards with their ready-made verses are still so popular in this post-modern digital age? If we look back we can see poetry has brought a degree of clarity to catastrophic events.

For example, World War One produced an abundance of poems written by those affected in that terrible conflict; many still resonate today. While you may not have heard of Laurence Binyon, you may well know his poem ‘For The Fallen’, particularly the fourth stanza:

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

Its relevance still reverberates today at remembrance services across our nation and around the globe.

Another outpouring of poetry came after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Such was its effect on New Yorkers that New York blogger Dennis Johnson recalled seeing poems taped on walls, telephone booths, mailboxes and bus shelters, in the aftermath of those attacks. People were writing and sharing their verse to try and make sense of it all.

The last two years have been no exception. In 2020 Save The Children charity invited youngsters from countries around the world to submit poems on COVID-19, life under lockdown and the pandemic. Thousands of children responded to this initiative writing verse to show how their lives had been affected. Not only did it give these children an outlet to express themselves, it also encouraged many to try this art form for the first time. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage presented the BBC2 programme ‘A Pandemic Poem: Where Did The World Go?’ which broadcast last June. It featured his poem written in response to the impact of this virus.

To mark World Poetry Day in 2021 UNISON, the public service union, ran a poetry competition. The theme ‘Reflections of 2020’ explored the pandemic through verse which not only attracted lots of entries from its members, but also produced some quality poems.

In Orpington, the inaugural Way With Words Literary Festival took place last June which included a wellattended Soul Food Poetry event. It was an opportunity for those poets performing their work to share with the audience their take on Covid-19.

The Croft Poetry Club (facebook.com/CroftPoetryClub/ about), which meets at the Croft Tea Room in St. Mary Cray High Street, brought out a collection of art and verse with the pandemic as its theme. Called ‘Our Covid Calendar’, it was published last May by local community publisher Cray 150 Publications (www. cray150publications.co.uk).

Poetry rises to the challenge of adversity, whether man made or otherwise, and will continue to be written and read by those trying to understand what has befallen them.

But you don’t have to wait for the next pandemic to strike. Why not put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and compose your own verse now. Life In…magazines prints poems written by their readers. Yours could be one of them!

Do you have a hobby or a subject that you’re passionate about? Maybe you’ve had a great experience and want to share it with others? Or perhaps you’d like to write about something that affects you personally that you’d like to raise awareness of. Email hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk with your idea and your details.

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