Merseyside poets, singers and musicians are getting together to perform a handful of events inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

 

Organised by Wirral poets Michelle Wright and Barry Woods, the events highlight current conflicts around the world and feature work from their new community anthology ‘Poets for Peace’, which is available to read for free on Facebook.

 

‘We are united through the arts and peace is a subject close to all of our hearts,’ says Michelle. ‘It is much needed right now.’

 

‘We have some fabulous submissions from poets of all experience levels; our anthology opens with a poem by famous Mersey Poet Brian Patten, who wrote a piece especially for the project.

It was moving to see such a great turn out for the first event at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead last month.’

 

Michelle and Barry are encouraging venues to place their own Peace Trees for the public to hang their own messages of peace from. The first has been placed in the Birkenhead Gallery and donated by Wirral’s John Gorman.

 

Both published poets and long-standing performers on the local spoken word circuit, Michelle and Barry have worked on many projects in the past including The Quality of Mersey anthology and The World in Lockdown People’s Poem which was accepted into the RLB360 ‘Capsule of Culture,’ a time capsule for the year 2020, permanently stored at the Royal Liver Building.

 

Barry has recently been commissioned three poems by Birkenhead Council for use in the promotion of their new commercial district being built over the next ten years, and has also just completed a commissioned poem for the Palm House.