Graham's blog

Families, who needs them?

The Poetry and Family event which took place recently at the National Portrait Gallery, was one of the best Poet in the City events I can remember. Three things struck me very forcibly:

Most obvious was the quality of the poems on this subject read out by Wendy Cope, Jackie Kay and John Siddique. It was a vivid demonstration of the way in which poetry can address difficult and emotionally charged subjects in a subtle, nuanced and non-judgemental way. All three poets had experienced some pain and dysfunction in relation to their families but all discussed the subject in a way that was inspiring, honest and compassionate.

The second striking thing was the way in which the poets displayed how important the family remains even when it is not the conventional family of 1950s mythology. Jackie Kay presented the joy and love of her adopted family and of gay parents bringing up a child. John Siddique talked about the pleasures and challenges of step children. And Wendy read a poem revealing her feelings of solidarity with her sister, both of them survivors of a claustrophobic childhood.

Thirdly, and perhaps most surprisingly, all three poets touched upon religion and the almost entirely negative part that it played in their family lives. In the case of Wendy and John it was religion experienced as a rigid and oppressive regime. In Jackie’s case it was the disconcerting fact that, when she sought out her birth parents, she found that her mum and dad had become a Mormon and an evangelical Christian respectively. Sadly, in both cases, they sought to justify in religious terms their continued refusal to acknowledge their daughter.

It was therefore fitting that the event should be hosted by Anne Atkins, a regular presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Thought for Today, who is known for combining religious faith and family life. Anne’s experience demonstrates that religion which is not fanatical or hypocritical can provide a positive guide. She spoke movingly of her life bringing up 5 children.

It was an evening completely without sentimentality. As Walt Whitman says: ‘The poet judges not as a judge judges but as the sun falling around a helpless thing’. I for one was left with a great sense of both the enormous resilience and the childlike fragility of the human being.

Arnold Circus

Naseem Khan CBE approached me recently and asked if Poet in the City could support a schools placement forming part of the Arnold Circus regeneration scheme in East London. Naseem, an important architect of the UK’s multicultural arts policy, spent seven years as Head of Diversity for Arts Council England. As Chair of the Friends of Arnold Circus she is an active champion of the regeneration scheme.

Arnold Circus is a small park with a Victorian bandstand, situated in the London borough of Hackney. After years of neglect the bandstand had fallen into dilapidation and become associated with drug use and antisocial behaviour. Two years ago a campaign was launched to reclaim the park for the community and to regenerate the area. Thanks to a financial support from Tower Hamlets and others the bandstand has been restored and is once again featuring music and other live performance.

Virginia Primary School is close to Arnold Circus, in an area of social and economic deprivation. 94% of the pupils are of Bangladeshi origin, and many of them do not have English as a first language. Naseem was very keen to introduce the children to the park and to teach them something about the history of the area.

Enter Poet in the City. Thanks to the support of Lloyd’s of London and Arts & Business we have been able to fund visits to Virginia Primary School over 7 weeks, commencing in November. The work is being delivered by Poet in the City through its partner Learning Through The Arts (LTTA). The placement will feature the poet Coral Rumble, with guest appearances by Shamim Azad, a well-known local poet and storyteller, originally from Bangladesh, who writes in both English and Bengali.

We are delighted to be able to support this enormously worthwhile project. What better way than poetry to bring Arnold Circus back to life at the heart at the local community.

Postcard from Marrakesh

After a busy week with Poet in the City I suddenly find myself sipping sweet mint tea in the heart of the Souk in Marrakesh. Bright shafts of sunlight, visible in beams, cut between the awnings of the shops, which are hunched around narrow lanes. The shops are cornucopias of silver teapots, carpets, spices and Arabic-style lamps. From the roof of a café we can see the hazy outline of the Atlas mountains to the south, with snow on their peaks.

It is not my first time in Marrakesh (I came here on a walking holiday in the 1980s), but a lot has changed. Back then I remember watching from the roof of my hotel as tourists left the building and were mobbed by would-be guides, carpet salesmen and taxi drivers. Quite a few got no more than 50 yards before scurrying back to the refuge of the hotel. This time we have walked the streets of Marrakesh for 3 days without anyone bothering us. Without exception the locals have been charming and helpful.

On the street Moroccans wander by with mobile phones glued to their ears, or surf the web in one of the many cyber cafes. I am not sure if my memory is deceiving me but 20 years ago the Souk felt like a medieval market, but now it feels a little bit more like a heritage zone. Were so many Moroccan women wearing full veils back then? This also feels like something new.

Outside the walls of old Marrakesh the foundations of a new city are being laid, to house the many thousands of Moroccans who, like people all over the world, have moved from the country to the city. The boulevards are lined with flags and crowds today because President Sarkozy of France is in town to sign a trade deal. Bored soldiers play with the safety catches on their sub-machine guns.

The hotel room has BBC World and a mini-bar. And the water from the tap is safe to drink. Morocco is going global, just like everywhere else. Sometimes I guess you need to go away to realise just how much things have changed at home.