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 which will provide 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.
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 will take up residence from this month until the summer at Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Portsmouth football clubs – running workshops and activities to unlock fans’ creative writing potential in the non-traditional environment of a stadium.
At the end of the project, which will coincide with the end of the football season, each club will have an official poem crafted by the local community, which will reflect the spirit and cultures of local communities and can be displayed by the club to inspire others and reinforce local pride.
If you are part of one of these communities and you want to get involved, please take a look below to see what is happening at your club!
Stoke City FC
Alan Barrett, a local poet, storyteller and actor, has been chosen as Stoke City FC’s poet-in-residence and will be running workshops, starting from late February. 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 will be working with those who attend Stoke Social, Stoke Memories, Potters Dementia Wellbeing group as well as local primary schools and other youth groups. 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, has been chosen as Crystal Palace’s poet-in-residence and will be running workshops, starting in early March. 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 will be working with a variety of community engagement groups, disability sport groups, walking football groups as well as youth groups and local schools. 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, has been chosen as Luton Town’s poet-in-residence and will be running workshops, starting in early March. 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 will be working with Luton Town FC's Hatters Hub, Ability Counts participants, fan engagement groups as well as local schools. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Luton Town FC Community Trust website.
Blackburn Rovers FC
David Swann, a local poet and writer, has been chosen as Blackburn Rovers’ poet-in-residence and will be running workshops, starting in early March. 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 will be working with Remember the Rovers, fan groups, veteran groups as well as local schools and youth groups. If you are part of one of these groups, please look for further details on the Blackburn Rovers FC Community page.
Portsmouth FC
Portsmouth FC is in the final stages of selecting its resident poet.
Watch this space as updates will be coming soon...
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!
The National Literacy Trust is hoping to emulate Jamie and Paul's success!
How to get involved
If you are not part of one of the groups mentioned and are still interested in getting involved in this project, please email sport@literacytrust.org.uk.
Please feel free to send us your favourite memories of your club or some poetry inspiration! Make sure to include the club name in your email subject.