Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Life Rooms have teamed up with cultural partners to offer local people the opportunity to listen to and recite their own creative pieces on National Poetry Day.



The free event, from noon to 6pm on Thursday, 6 October is being led by Mersey Care’s Poet-in-Residence Pauline Rowe, in collaboration with North End Writers, Crosby-based poet Maria Isakova Bennett, Mossley Hill Writing Group and Northcote Primary School.

It will be held in The Life Rooms, situated on the corner of Evered Avenue and Rice Lane, Walton. Mersey Care service users, carers, staff, as well as local writers and members of public are welcome. Guests can drop in any time to listen to the poetry marathon and if they want to read an original work of their own they need to pre-book a late afternoon slot.

The theme of this year’s National Poetry Day initiated by The Forward Arts Foundation is ‘Messages’. The event is also part of Mersey Care’s contribution to the city’s World Mental Health Festival in October co-ordinated by Liverpool Mental Health Consortium.

Michael Crilly, Director of Social Inclusion and Participation based at the Life Rooms said: “National Poetry Day is a great way of celebrating and sharing the tremendous creativity in our city region and in particular its positive impact on mental health and wellbeing. We are delighted to host this at the Life Rooms as our first major public event since opening.

“We hope people come along to enjoy the day and learn more about Life Rooms. We are here to promote recovery, health and mental wellbeing through a range of life opportunities and also offer a range of courses, including creative writing, for service users, carers, staff and local residents.”

To book a place to read a poem at Mersey Care’s National Poetry Day event, or for more information, telephone the Life Rooms on 0151 478 6556 or Poet-in-Residence Pauline Rowe on 07875 434 292.

Event Listing: National Poetry Day – a free, fun and interactive afternoon of poetry readings

When: Thursday, 6 October, 2016. 12 noon–6pm (stay for as little or long as you like)

Where: The Life Rooms, Evered Avenue, Walton, Liverpool, L9 2AF.