Druid: 20 Days of Poetry
A free online initiative for secondary schools beginning on Poetry Day Ireland - Thursday 28 April 2022.
With access to the Coole Park Poetry Series (a series of filmed poems available to view online), Druid hopes to inspire a new generation of poetry enthusiasts to watch one short poetry film every school day for twenty days, beginning on Poetry Day Ireland – Thursday 28 April 2022.
With educational resources to accompany the poetry films, including a teachers’ pack, calendar and video interviews, we hope that students will enjoy this introduction to poems by some of the greatest Irish poets of the past century, as well as the opportunity to explore the work of poets working in Ireland today – and it just happens to be useful preparation for the Unseen Poetry question!
Poets featured in the series include Eavan Boland, FeliSpeaks, Seamus Heaney, Seán Hewitt, Patrick Kavanagh, Derek Mahon, Paula Meehan, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and W. B. Yeats.
Coole Park Poetry Series
In collaboration with the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, Druid’s Coole Park Poetry Series is a collection of short poetry films shot by Matthew Thompson on the grounds of Coole Park in County Galway, home to Lady Gregory.
These short films, performed by a group of poets and performers, bring poetry to life on screen for secondary school students.
The Resources
The Teachers’ Pack contains everything you need to take part in the 20 Days of Poetry, including: information on the 20 poems, discussion prompts, tips on engaging with poetry by poet Darren Donohue, and links to the poetry films and poem texts.
The Calendar is designed to help you to chart the 20 days of poetry and provides links to each of the poetry films. The running time of each poetry film is included in the calendar.
The Creative Writing Prompt is an opportunity for students to write a poem in response to one of the 20 poetry films. Further details are available in the Teachers’ Pack. Please consider the environment when printing the worksheet. We recommend printing double-sided where possible.
The video interviews with poets FeliSpeaks and Seán Hewitt provide an opportunity to learn about poetry from two of the most exciting poets working in Ireland today. The two poets offer simple guidelines and tips about how to engage with poetry.
Meet the Poet: FeliSpeaks
We talk to poet FeliSpeaks about life as a poet and about her Coole Park Poetry Series poems.
Meet the Poet: Seán Hewitt
We talk to poet Seán Hewitt about life as a poet and about his Coole Park Poetry Series poems.
Talking Poetry
Seán Hewitt and FeliSpeaks provide tips and guidelines for reading poetry.
A Note to Teachers
The poems in the Coole Park Poetry Series were originally curated for general audiences and not secondary school students specifically. Some of the poems explore sensitive subject matters. Please watch or read each poem before sharing it with your class to ensure that they are safe and appropriate for your students.
Contact Us
If you have any queries or feedback about these resources, please contact Claire Mullane, Druid's Community and Education Coordinator, claire.mullane@druid.ie.
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Druid's Community and Education Programme is supported by Aerogen and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation.
