Andrew Motion, Al Alvarez, Benjamin Zephaniah, Carol Ann Duffy, Dannie Abse, Fleur Adcock, John Hegley and Pam Ayres are part of a line up of top British and Irish poets who have recorded an anthology CD for Oxfam.It is the first time, ever, that such a large group of poets have met to record their work for such a project. Poetry has been hotly debated within the media recently, facing concerns that it is losing its mass appeal. In a bid to demonstrate how diverse and exciting poetry can be, and to show their support for Oxfam, the UK's leading poets have teamed up to create a CD of their most enthralling work to date.
The CD, named Life Lines includes previously unheard works and was launched at St Giles Church, Holborn on 8 June, when Simon Armitage, Wendy Cope, Ruth Padel, Charlie Dark, Patience Agbabi, Jo Shapcott, Peter Finch and Helen Farish will be reading their work.
The recording took place on 24th February at the RNIB studio in Camden and it will be sold in 174 Oxfam shops around the UK from 10th June priced at£4.99.
From May 2004 to end of April 2005, Oxfam raised over £15.6 million from book sales and sales are still growing at nearly 10% per year. This project is the brainchild of Todd Swift, Oxfam's Poet In Residence since 2004, a Canadian poet living in the UK.
All unds raised from sales of the CDs will go towards Oxfam's work to overcome poverty and suffering around the world.
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To play a video with an interview from me, or to see Wendy Cope and John Hegley read their poems, click below, then click on "Recording Day".
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