Top Twenty Poems

As I mentioned earlier Boyne Writers Group are organising some events for the Bealtaine Festival in Knightsbridge Retirement Village in Trim.

On Wednesday next myself and Paddy are reading the Top Twenty Reading Out Loud Poems. We are choosing the twenty favourites based on our experiences reading to the residents each week. That's our favourites and the audience's favourites. Some poems are a delight to read, other difficult.

Rhythm and rhyme are important in reading aloud but understanding, clever language and the unexpected are also essential. You know a poem is well written and well read when the audience reacts to such things.

I've also been googling information on the poets to find interesting facts about them. Did you know that Robert Burns' sister, Agnes, came to live near Dundalk and her cottage is still there, now a tourist attraction. Apparently that's the reason Carrolls called one of their cigarette brands Sweet Afton.

And our top three poems? I'll tell you later.