Polyolbion: Polyverse Poets

Tuesday, 5 August 2008

Polyverse Poets

Here's the new Polyverse Poets page - as you'll see, it's a network for East Midlands based writers, and also contains links to the Polyverse Festival page (the event will take place in Loughborough in July next year). Have a browse...

ABOUT THAT TITLE

Poly-Olbion was a vast poem describing the topography, traditions and history of England and Wales, written by Michael Drayton, a friend of Shakespeare. It ran to 15,000 lines of iambic hexameter, and he intended to extend it to include Scotland, but never got that far. Drayton didn't quite pass into obscurity, but if he's remembered now, it's generally for his much-anthologised sonnet, the wonderful "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part". Anyway, I've always had a soft spot for Drayton, because he was born and raised about 15 miles from here in Polesworth (and because of that sonnet), and thought his now-ignored mega-poem might provide a good name for a blog that will range far and wide, wittering aimlessly and incessantly about whatever catches my eye. I promise not to write it in iambic hexameter, though.