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Pupils at a Govan primary school will hear live verse and be taught writing skills by two professional poets in a unique event.

Primary pupils in poetry masterclass

October 7, 2008

Pupils at a Govan primary school will hear live verse and be taught writing skills by two professional poets in a unique event.

The SPT supported event, at Copeland Primary School on Friday, has been organised by the Edinburgh-based Scottish Poetry Library as part of its outreach work in Glasgow.

The masterclass comes hot on the heels of National Poetry Day on 9 October, which has become hugely popular in both primary and secondary schools. This year's theme is 'work'.

SPT's poet-in-residence for the Subway, John Rice (pictured right), and award-winning poet Moyra Donaldson will read examples of their work to Primary Seven pupils, as well as helping the youngsters brush up on their skills.

The event marks John's first visit to a school in his role as poet-in-residence.

John said: "We hope the visit will encourage children to be creative with words. This gives them a better command and knowledge of language, which will be of benefit throughout their lives."

John hopes to involve pupils from schools near Subway stations in his forthcoming 'Poetry Moles' project, where he will take children onto Subway trains to inspire creative writing about the network.

Juliet Rees, Education Officer at the Scottish Poetry Library, said: "We wanted to reflect the theme of work as widely as possible in all our activities, so being able to include someone whose job involves working as poet-in-residence on the Glasgow Subway is wonderful.

"We're sure that John and Moyra will be able to share their enthusiasm for poetry with the children at Copeland Primary school and - who knows - maybe encourage some of them to use a bit of poetic licence when it comes to thinking about work."

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Poet-in-residence John Rice

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