On Thursday, 3 October 2024, Queen Anne’s School welcomed poet and mathematician, Harry Baker, as part of our National Poetry Day celebrations. The English Department are proud of their long tradition of inviting prominent poets to the school, with Harry Baker’s visit following in the footsteps of Patience Agbade, John Agard, Mary-Jean Chan, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage, who have all previously taken their turn to stand on the stage in our school hall. With this year’s National Poetry Day theme being ‘Counting’, Baker, who holds the title of Poetry World Slam Champion 2012, brought the perfect blend of creativity and mathematics to our students, enriching their appreciation of both subjects. Harry’s ability to weave mathematical concepts into his poetry made his visit particularly fitting for the occasion!
Organised in collaboration between the English and Maths departments, the interdisciplinary event saw Harry perform several of his well-loved poems, much to the delight of the Lower School. Harry gave a captivating poetry reading, performing poems such as Paper People and Dinosaur Love. Following the lively performance, he fielded a rich variety of questions from our students, teaching them about his journey into publishing and the events and people that inspired him. By the end of the morning, students couldn’t help but feel inspired to pick up a pen or perhaps challenge themselves to enter a local poetry slam event.
As we celebrate another successful National Poetry Day, the English Department look forward to reading the poetry competition entries and deciding on this year’s QA Poetry Champions. Winning entries can be found in the next edition of the QA Writers Magazine, which is edited and published by our resident poet and Writer in Residence, Mr Jackson. If you haven’t subscribed already for your beautiful termly glossy QA Writers magazine, a form can be found on the parent portal.
Categories: Queen Anne's School School News
