Market Harborough & District U3A

Poetry

Group Leader: Ann Hawkins

 The U3A Poetry Group has around 12 regular members - some of whom have been coming since the group began in 2000. We meet once a fortnight at Brooklands and each session has a theme, like love, beauty or the sea, or it may be about the life and works of a particular poet, or we may explore a type of poetry like humorous verse or the sonnet. It says something for the ingenuity of the group to say we have not yet repeated ourselves in 7 years! Sometimes a group member offers to take a subject - usually the life and works of a poet; sometimes we have a guest speaker. We have had local poets come to speak to us, aswell as U3A members who write their own poetry. We have visited Helpston, the birthplace of John Clare, and also Little Gidding, the inspiration for one of the Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot.

Last year we produced a pamphlet of poems written by members of the U3A called 'Be Patient' which was circulated to the waiting rooms of local surgeries. We hope it gave those in the waiting room some pleasure.

We are always surprised by the variety of poems that spring from any subject. We share experiences that arise from the poetry and usually have a lot to laugh at and sometimes a little to cry about too! In the end what brings us together is a love of poetry and an interest in the poets who can enlarge our awareness of the human condition with the power of words.