Bolton poetry lovers rejoice! To celebrate the National Year of Reading, Bolton Library and Museum will be hosting free poetry appreciation groups to lift the heart and brighten the spirit.
All meetings will take place at Bolton Central Library at 11am, with the next discussion group - Thursday, February 19 - dedicated to the works of legendary Victorian poet and novelist Thomas Hardy.
More known nowadays for his novels than his verse, Hardy in fact spent the last part of his career dedicated exclusively to poetry following the publication of his final novels - Jude the Obscure in 1895 and The Well Beloved in 1897.
Hardy's first collection of poetry, entitled 'Wessex Poems', was published in 1898, and in 1901 he published 'Poems of the Past and the Present', which features one of his best-known poems - The Darkling Thrush.
The discussion group, on Thursday, March 19, takes as its focus the contemporary Somali-British poet Warsan Shire, who once had portions of her work used by Beyoncé in her feature film Lemonade.
Thursday 16 April will focus on the work of Elizabeth McManus, a poet and artist of Scottish descent who lives and works around the Northwest of England, with the poet actually in attendance at the event.
Share