A Poem for your Club
What is A Poem for your Club?
Commissioned by Arts Council England and funded by The Compton Poetry Fund, A Poem for your Club is an exciting new collaboration between the National Literacy Trust and five football clubs. The project provided an opportunity for fans from across generations and from different communities to come together to tell their stories and have them recognised and celebrated through poetry.
A Poem for your Club is coming to a close! You can soon read the fantastic final poems under each of the participating football clubs below.
Our Goal
A Poem for your Club was designed in response to declining writing levels and a lack of engaging opportunities, focused on inspiring a love of creative writing in children, families, and others in the local community. The National Literacy Trust has spent over 20 years using football as a “literacy by stealth” tool to engage young people with reading and writing, including a two-decade long partnership with the Premier League.
Poets took up residence at Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Portsmouth football clubs – the workshops and activities have now been completed and have unlocked fans’ creative writing potential in the non-traditional environment of a stadium.
Each club will soon launch its official poem, crafted by the local community, which will reflect the spirit and culture of the local community and will be displayed by the club to inspire others and reinforce local pride.
How to get involved
This project is now drawing to a close, but we would still love to hear your poems! If you would like to share your own poems for your club, please email sport@literacytrust.org.uk.
Are you part of these communities?
If you are part of one of the following sports communities and want to find out more, please take a look below.
Stoke City FC
Alan Barrett, a local poet, storyteller and actor, was chosen as Stoke City FC’s poet-in-residence and facilitated the workshops for the Stoke City FC community. Alan has worked in the local community on several poetry projects, some in conjunction with the National Literacy Trust, and has been a Stoke City FC season ticket holder for a long time!
Alan worked with those who attend Stoke Social, Stoke Memories, Potters Dementia Wellbeing group, as well as local primary schools and other youth groups to create a poem for Stoke City FC. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Stoke City FC Community page.
Crystal Palace FC
Dan Simpson, a local poet and spoken word artist, was chosen as Crystal Palace’s poet-in-residence and facilitated the workshops for the Palace for Life community. As a workshop leader, Dan is passionate about the power of language and words to empower people. He has also supported Palace since childhood and can't wait to work with the communities the club supports!
Dan worked with a variety of community engagement groups, disability sport groups, walking football groups, as well as youth groups and local schools to create a poem for Crystal Palace. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Palace for Life Foundation website.
Luton Town FC
Naz Knight, a local poet, workshop facilitator, and holistic health practitioner, was chosen as Luton Town’s poet-in-residence and facilitated the workshops for the Luton Town FC community. Naz was born and raised in Luton and has made fantastic contributions to the local community. Naz is the Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2016.
Naz worked with Luton Town FC's Hatters Hub, Ability Counts participants, fan engagement groups as well as local schools to create a poem for Luton Town FC. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Luton Town FC Community Trust website.
Luton Town FC's poem will be launching here soon.
Blackburn Rovers FC
David Swann, a local poet and writer, was chosen as Blackburn Rovers’ poet-in-residence and facilitated the workshops for the Blackburn Rovers FC community. David has worked as a creative writing tutor in universities, schools, prisons, homeless centres, and Greek harbour-sides. David was born a Rovers fan!
David worked with Remember the Rovers, fan groups, veteran groups as well as local schools and youth groups to create a poem for Blackburn Rovers. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Blackburn Rovers FC Community page.
Blackburn Rovers' poem will be launching here soon.
Portsmouth FC
Bash Amuneni, a local poet, performer and creative consultant, was chosen as Portsmouth's poet-in-residence and facilitated the workshops for Pompey in the Community. A recipient of the UK Government’s global talent visa for exceptional poetry, Bash has spent over a decade shaping the literary landscape; writing, teaching and performing poetry that pulses with memory, identity and the human condition. His work has echoed in festivals, government commissions and international stages, from the European Union’s Night for Human Rights to Poetry Africa.
Bash worked with Pompey in the Community's Life 'n' Chimes, local schools, fan groups, and a variety of other community engagement groups to create a poem for Pompey. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Pompey in the Community page.
Our Inspiration
In 2018, Jamie Thrasivoulou was commissioned by Derby County Football Club to create a club poem. He performed his poem ‘We Are Derby’ at the East Midlands derby between DCFC and Nottingham Forest, to over 31,000 people and throughout the season. You can find his performance on YouTube (Please note: at the end of the video, swearing from the crowd is briefly audible).
In the same year, Paul Cookson was commissioned by Everton Football Club to create a club poem. His poem 'Home' was used to launch Everton's 2018-19 season ticket campaign. Listen to his poem below!