The East Riding Library Service has teamed up with The South Bank Centre, London, on their new literary project called GPS (Global Poetry System!) which is designed to map the whereabouts of poetry in the UK’s landscapes and cityscapes.

Over the past few months, poets and poetry sleuths have been able to raise the profile of the places they love through posting poems about them on the GPS website. This can be poetry they've written or poems they’ve found in the landscape or on the streets.

There are poems scattered all over the place. They might be discovered on monuments, benches, plaques, in churches or could even include poetic graffiti such as the ‘Hip-Hop Chip Shop’ found written on the front of a chippie whose cheerful staff were known for their hip-hopping while serving customers. They can also include oral poetry like local nursery rhymes or sports chants.

To kick-start this project, East Riding Libraries invited poet and writer, Pat Borthwick, to run a series of creative writing workshops designed to get you writing about where you live, and to get you hunting for hidden poetic gems. Poems will then be posted on the GPS map online for everyone to enjoy. If you can't make it to one of the many sessions that we'll be running through until April 2010, you can go to the site and post poems on it yourself:

http://gps.southbankcentre.co.uk/

John W. Clarke, Director of Wordquake, says:

‘We’re delighted to be teamed up with the South Bank Centre on this innovative project that gives everyone the chance to celebrate the place where they live in words. I look forward to reading all the hidden gems that are no doubt out there - or yet to be written. We hope to display the findings at out new poetry festival at Sewerby Hall over the weekend of 11^th-13th June 2010.

The next event is on January 27^th at North Bridlington Library, from 6-8pm. To book a place, call the library on 01482 392762

 Information about other events in East Riding Libraries can be found at: www.bevlit.org