PUPILS from an Oxford school will get the chance to read their poems at a special night at Blackwell’s Bookshop.
Author Kate Clanchy, who is writer-in-residence at Oxford Spires Academy, has encouraged pupils with migrant backgrounds to write about their experiences.
England: Poems from a School has been published by Picador Pan Macmillan and features heart-wrenching tales of war-torn homelands and a colourful account of Cowley Road.
Pupils at the comprehensive school in Glanville Road speak 30 different languages and those who have contributed poems will be at Blackwell’s Broad Street store with Ms Clanchy on Wednesday, July 11 at 7pm.
In a blog post for Pan Macmillan Ms Clanchy wrote: “Poems From a School brings together our very best poems to create a rich portrait of England as it is experienced by its youngest migrants.
“The result is very likely to make you cry - but not just because of the sadness of some of the stories.
“There is an openness here, a warmth, a reality which speaks directly to the human heart.”
The school claims to be the most successful in the UK for poetry.
The event will be chaired by Cyan Turan, who is a features writer for Red Magazine, and a past pupil of Oxford Spires Academy. Tickets cost £5. Email events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk
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