The Poetry Takeaway delight diners in London Bridge
In the run up to World Mental Health Day, Team London Bridge invited The Poetry Takeaway and their network of poets to share their talents with the London Bridge community - Ellie Beedham, Director of Arts.
Following on from a very successful debut in London Bridge at Bermondsey Street Festival in 2019, the poets returned to share their unique personalised approach to story telling with a new audience of diners. Taking inspiration from a quick chat with visitors to the van, the poets take these ingredients and cook them up into a bespoke poem to wrap up and take-away.
The van took residency in Potters Fields Park and on King’s College London campus over a 4 day period in early October. From key workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospital, to sightseers en route to Tower Bridge, the diverse group of poet’s braved delighted an array of punters, despite the challenging weather courtesy of Storm Alex.
Our diverse group of poet chefs are the heart of The Poetry Takeaway, along with the people we meet, the stories they share with us, how we tell and the amazing places in which we find ourselves.
Over the pandemic period, Team London Bridge has also hosted a series of creative writing sessions with The Poetry Takeaway’s Laurie Bolger as part of the Love Lunch Online programme. All the sessions are currently available to enjoy on @TeamLondonBridge IGTV, which you can access here.
If you missed the poets this time around, you can check where the van will stop next on The Poetry Takeaway social channels.
Thank you to all the talented poets Laurie Ogden, Erin Bolens, SugarJ Poet, Carl Burkitt, Ella Frears, Phoebe Wagner, Matt Abbott, Maria Ferguson, Remi Graves, Alice Frecknall, Jonny FluffyPunk, Dan Cockrill and David Attree.
Supported by Team London Bridge with Potters Fields Park Management Trust, Guy’s Hospital and King’s College London.
Currently The Poetry Takeaway with support from Arts Council England are working in a range of settings across the country including hospitals, care homes, sheltered housing, alongside vulnerable groups with a strong emphasis on the staff who are working long hours in challenging environments with the sole purpose of caring for those in need.