ESTABLISHED in the mid-1960s in Morpeth, the Northern Poetry Library is the largest collection of post-Second World War poetry in England outside London. To mark the library’s 50th year six poets – Degna Stone, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, John Challis, Jo Colley, Linda France and Lisa Matthews – spent time in and around libraries across the North East with small groups of participants who came together to generate new poems taking inspiration from the library’s stock.
Those involved in the project were Berwick library poetry group and participants in a Berwick Granary Gallery workshop; Year Nine poetry group at Duchess Community High School, Alnwick, and the Bailiffgate Museum writing group; Blyth library poetry workshops and writing groups based at Newcastle University; residents of the Riverside Care Home, Morpeth, Morpeth library staff and students from King Edward VI School; and Hexham Farmers’ Market and Hexham library writing group.