How Poetry Matters: Ideas, Pitches, Poets

This October, the RSA Performing Arts Network will be hosting a very special evening, in collaboration with the Centre for Poetry at Queen Mary University of London, focusing on the ways ideas can be translated into art and action through poetry.

Poetry matters because it evokes ideas in emotionally complex and unexpected ways. Through this unique medium, ideas are not only articulated but also enacted and extended. By hearing and seeing poetry read or performed, audience members become not only intellectually but emotionally engaged and this engagement can lead to action. 

Because of the richness of the medium of poetry, we focus on just three key ideas this evening, drawn from the pitches proposed for the event. As you will see, the poets have been broadly matched to the ideas presented by the pitchers, but they give us the opportunity to explore their ideas in a range of ways. We are very pleased to present to you the following ideas, pitches, and poets, as we explore how poetry matters.

IDEA 1: On activism, identity, representation, visibility (19:00 – 19:20)

PITCHER: Digby Howard, Trustee, Camden LGBT Forum
PITCH:  To create an official “LGBT Poet Laureate” post/job to appear at and write pieces for LGBT event
POETS: Genna Gardini, Keith Jarrett 

IDEA 2: On developing creative potential, creative mentoring, connecting education with creative industries, collaborative energy (19:25 – 19:45)

PITCHER:  Jennifer Sturrock, Designer and Educator
PITCH:  LOOM is an app that seeks to ‘weave creative potential’ by connecting schools to creative industry.
POET:  Nisha Ramayya

IDEA 3:  On accessing other worlds and the poetry and science of discovery (20:15 – 21:00)

PITCHER:  Peter Bull, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
PITCH:  Using poetry to teach STEM science and astronomy
POETS: Sophie Seita and Naomi Woo will present poetic performance pieces by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-1982) using spoken dialogue, projectors, tape recorders, choreography, lights, and analog sound.