Poetry Party aims to pull people into public place

PETER DRURY/Waikato Times

HIGH HOPES: Celia Hope reads poetry in Garden Place.

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Tomorrow's Poetry Party won't just be a celebration of Montana Poetry Day. To organiser Celia Hope it's the way Hamilton should be using Garden Place.

Mrs Hope was inspired by visiting Australian David Engwicht who recently encouraged the community to make better use of the area.

Mr Engwicht spoke in Hamilton this month and urged residents to embrace Garden Place and said the answer was to find ways for people to interact with the area.

"I was inspired by his suggestion that we should look more to individual effort to improve the community mindedness of our neighbourhoods rather than just relying on city council initiatives," she said.

"I started to think about what I could I do to bring some soul back into some our city's spaces especially Garden Place."

The Poetry Party, starting at 11am, also celebrates today's annual Montana Poetry Day and Mrs Hope has lined up a host of people to read poems.

These include adventurer Rob Hamill, radio DJ Ronny Phillips, former Black Cap Chris Kuggeleijn, past and present MPs Dianne Yates, Nandor Tanczos and David Bennett, Hamilton city councillor Angela O'Leary and council communication and marketing general manager Philip Burton. Waikato University lecturer Mark Houlahan will MC the event and Mrs Hope a poet herself says anyone is welcome to read.

Councillor Daphne Bell has knocked out a small poem to encourage punters.

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