Manchester Met marks National Poetry Day with reading of climate change poetry by Helen Mort
Manchester Metropolitan University is celebrating National Poetry Day with reading of a new poem, In the Field, by award winning poet, Helen Mort. The poem explores the themes of climate change and the landscape around Narsaq in Greenland.
Watch Helen Mort read her poem, In the Field, in this new video released for National Poetry Day.
National Poetry Day is organised by the Forward Arts Foundation, as an annual celebration to encourage people to write, enjoy and share poetry. It is held every year on the first Thursday of October.
This poem is part of a new collection, Field Notes, by Helen Mort, Professor of Creative Writing at Manchester Met. Professor Mort is a British poet and novelist and was recently nominated for the Forward Poetry Prize. This collection was written when Professor Mort joined Manchester Met climate change scientists Dr Kathryn Adamson and Dr LIestyn Barr in September 2023 for a scientific expedition.
They travelled to Narsaq, Southern Greenland, to take samples and open dialogues with the local communities.
Professor Mort added: “When I was helping the scientists in the lake, they were casting down to find something, but they don’t know until months later if what they’ve got is any good, or what it will reveal. Creativity is a little bit like that. You’re constantly casting down without really knowing what’s going to be brought up.
“The relationship between artists and scientists is vitally important. Learning from another discipline is a great way of challenging your entire way of thinking about something. I think we’re definitely stronger together and I love working that way.”
Manchester Met is home to Manchester Poetry Library, the first public poetry library in the North West. Since opening its doors in 2021, it has welcomed over 20,000 visitors into the space, with many thousands of people actively engaging with its online presence.
The University’s Manchester Writing School, the largest writing school in the UK, led by former poet laureate Professor Carol Ann Duffy, is this year celebrating 25 years of teaching poetry, fiction, scriptwriting, non-fiction, and publishing. Many writers have gone on to win major literary prizes including the Forward Prize for Poetry, Costa Book Award, and T.S. Elliot.
