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Through his practice-led research and active promotion of community-based poetry initiatives, the University of Reading's Peter Robinson has increased the availability of poetry at local, national and international levels. As a result of his work, poetry has been more prominently staged, explained and argued for in public forums, enhancing the cultural lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities. Economic impact has been achieved through Robinson's intervention in helping to secure the financial viability and boost the profile of a small publishing firm specialising in poetry, which in turn has improved the cultural life and self-esteem for the local community.
Building on the University of Surrey's long history of involvement in the post-war British poetry scene, Surrey's School of English and Languages conducts research into some of the key questions surrounding contemporary poetic practice.
This research underpins the School's commitment to championing and investigating the most recent and innovative wave of contemporary British poetry: the renewed focus on a Modernist aesthetic that characterizes much of twenty-first-century verse.
The School has established a series of public events to bring this challenging and rewarding body of work to a wider audience. These events have made a significant economic contribution through their promotion of the British poetry industry, and have had a marked cultural impact on public access to and understanding of avant-garde poetry in the county of Surrey and across southeast England.
The primacy of oral poetry to Somali culture cannot be overstated: It is the primary form of cultural communication and the foremost vehicle through which Somali history, cultural values and contemporary concerns are expressed and transmitted. Through his pioneering analysis and sensitive translation into English of classical and contemporary Somali poems, Dr Martin Orwin has brought Somali poetry to the attention of Anglophone audiences, participating in web-accessible poetry projects and prominent events such as `Sonnet Sunday` and `Poetry Parnassus`. Working with Somali poets and cultural organisations, Orwin`s work has contributed to a more positive understanding of Somali culture and its place in world literature.
Professor Sir Andrew Motion works at the heart of the poetry sector in the UK and speaks for it at all levels of public discourse. His research into poetry through criticism and practice, and his tireless public engagement, lead to impacts on a wide range of users in cultural life and education, civil society, public discourses and public services. These are achieved through such positions as
Widespread benefits are felt through
Mediating the complex and rewarding pleasures of poetry to a wide audience is central to the Department of English at Queen Mary's impact on the public understanding of the medium. Poetry has very high status in conceptions of literary merit and ambition, and commands large public audiences; yet it is also seen as difficult to understand by that audience, especially in the case of contemporary poetry. At Queen Mary, research on poetry includes scholarly modes of close reading and explication, analysis of poetics, women's writing, and poetry's print culture. Drawing on this research, we have used diverse strategies to enhance public understanding of poetry, including broadcast and internet dissemination, publishing ventures, poetry readings, and public archiving of poetry recordings. This has extended to work with teachers on teaching modern poetry in schools, the location where most general readers first encounter poetry.
W.N. Herbert, Jackie Kay and Sean O'Brien have played central roles in the recent resurgence of interest in poetry as live performance and cultural event, and have been instrumental in a growing recognition of its power as a means of social engagement. Their research and writing have provided a foundation for the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA), a University Research Centre directed by Linda Anderson. Through the NCLA they have been able (i) to build audiences for literature generally, and poetry in particular, at live events, online and in communities; (ii) to engage key groups, including young and older people, and to study creative writing's benefits for learning and wellbeing; (iii) to enhance the public understanding of poetry, by disseminating research, encouraging debate, and providing resources and new opportunities to encounter poetry.
From within the Manchester Writing School poets Sprackland, Roberts, O'Riordan and CA Duffy are widening access to contemporary poetry by building on the achievements (flagged as exceptional in RAEs 2001 and 2008) of a specialist poetry cluster at MMU that formerly included Michael Schmidt (1998-2005), Simon Armitage (1999-2010), Jeffrey Wainwright (1973-2008) and Sophie Hannah (1998-2005). This poetry research group has generated significant impact on: 1) new writers — via Manchester Poetry Prize, Ted Hughes Award, mentoring and readings 2) the teaching of poetry in schools — via initiatives like the Manchester Children's Book Festival, Poetry Archive, Poetry By Heart, contribution to GCSE syllabus 3) new readers and audiences, through broadcasting, collaboration and public events.
Based on a common research interest in the collaborative poetic of the New York School, and a commitment to the public value of poetry, University of Kent poets have created a poetry scene of national and international significance. Together they founded the innovative poetry festival Sounds New Poetry, which led to the award-winning performance series Free Range. Sounds New Poetry's significance lies in its creation and intellectual enrichment of new audiences for poetry and its advancement of the creative practice of major musicians and poets through cross-media collaborations. Building on the achievement of Sounds New Poetry, the Arts Council-funded Wise Words enabled PGCE students to take contemporary poetry to `out of mainstream' groups. The programme extended the reach of the festival by changing pedagogy within regional PGCE practice and enriching the experience of users from a range of community education groups.
Research in writing and the small presses at the University of Salford has directly impacted upon the creation of new contexts and networks for the development and showcasing of innovative writing. It has:
This case study describes the work of Professor Tony Lopez and its impact on the contemporary world of poetry and the creative and cultural economy. The impact has been on the general reading public, (who have recognised the importance of Lopez's works, on the writing community itself through Lopez's influence of creative practice, and on the publishers, editors, curators, arts festival programmers, and translators who work within the creative and cultural sectors of the economy. Publication, awards won, critical reception, and consultancy positions support the claim to impact.