Why do we do it?

Poetry Together is the brainchild of author, broadcaster, and poetry fanatic, Gyles Brandreth. Here, he explains a bit about where the idea came from.

“The idea came to me when I was talking with some teachers. They said to me, “Kids love learning poetry by heart and love reciting poetry as a group.” Having done some research into the topic, I knew that there’s plenty of evidence to show there are many benefits to learning poetry by heart for both young and old people.

With infants and young children, engaging with poetry helps with language skills in all sorts of ways. Studies have shown that learning poetry by heart improves performance academically at school, improving concentration, and even supporting better sleep.

For adults, evidence shows that learning poetry by heart can give you a happier and more successful life. It improves the ability to communicate and strengthen relationships, improves memory, increases brain capacity and can help keep dementia at bay. It’s amazing stuff really. Learning poetry together changes lives!

So, I thought, why not create a project that encourages schools and older people’s homes to get together, have a tea party, and recite a poem together.

The project is a wonderful way to bring communities closer. We don’t need science to explain how special it can be when people from two ends of the generational spectrum get together and have a chat over a cup of tea.”