We concern ourselves with reading and talking about poetry, rather than writing it.  We restrict ourselves to poetry written in English, and most of the poems we read were written in the British Isles.  We usually concentrate on a single poet at a time, devoting three or four sessions to each.  All members are expected to join in the reading and most find they have something to contribute to the discussion, at least occasionally. It is convenient if everyone has the same edition or anthology to study from, but alternatives usually work all right.

Poets studied previously by the group have included Blake, Eliot, D H Lawrence, Ted Hughes, Thomas Hardy, Milton and Kipling. In the 2006-7 programme we read Philip Larkin and Seamus Heaney; and from September to November 2007 John Betjeman. On December 12th, following the sad, unexpected death of our group leader, Jeremy Smith, twelve group members met to discuss a way forward. We continue as a self-led, enthusiastic group, from which members will each present the work of one poet. From January 2008, we begin with three sessions on W B Yeats, followed by a study of Wordsworth’s Prelude and then the poets of WW1.

Maggie Hitchens, Group Secretary