Poets on Merseyside are being invited to contribute to a lengthy ‘patchwork’ poem that documents the lockdown mood in the region.

The World in Lockdown People's Poem is being curated by poet Barry Woods, assisted by poet Michelle Wright. Barry said: “We want a lengthy patchwork-style poem that documents the mood in Merseyside, a 'poem of the people' that incorporates both rhyme and free verse styles. At the moment we are at 10 pages in length.”

He added that submissions were from all levels of poets, “from passionate beginners to seasoned performance poets. We want a cross-section of writers involved as we are all in this together.” They have had more than 200 submissions so far.

Some of the poems submitted are being posted on the group’s World in Lockdown Facebook page. Merseyside poets wanting to take part should email up to six lines of original work concerning the pandemic to barrywoods211@hotmail.com. The submission deadline is 4 May. The poem is due to be launched online on its Facebook page on 11 May.