Children from five Devon primary schools have enjoyed the chance to write and deliver live performances of their poetry.
The youngsters have been working with prize-winning children’s poet James Carter in our week-long project. James worked with the children from Axminster Primary School, Ilfracombe First School, Feniton Primary School, Honiton Primary School and Wynstream Primary School in Exeter across a week of workshops. Each school’s final work was performed in their local library or school hall in front of delighted parents and carers.
The workshops and performances using funding from Arts Council England which was awarded in 2023 specifically to roll out arts and creativity projects across the county.
James is a National Poetry Day Ambassador and has written fifty children’s books including Zim Zam Zoom – Zappy Poems to Read Out Loud, The Beasts Beneath Our Feet and A Ticket to Kalamzoo! He works with primary schools all over the UK and abroad to encourage a love of reading and language amongst children.
He said: “The children really did their schools proud by writing such excellent poems and they clearly enjoyed reading them out to parents/carers at the end of each day. What’s more it was great to take the children out of school and into the libraries in Axminster, Ilfracombe and Honiton. What was unique and very special about this week was to bring children, poetry and creativity into libraries, and to see children/families loving this experience. My own mission statement as a poet is to show adults how immediate and accessible poetry is, how much children love it, and that words do not only belong in the school environment/curriculum, but in the community as a whole.”
It was a wonderful week watching the children grow in confidence in their skills with language and their love of reading and writing. James makes everything fantastic fun for them, and the audience at the performances were delighted.