1. Poetry for the Many alludes to the slogan ‘For the many, not the Few.’ What inspired you to come up with the slogan in the first place and why did you choose this title for the poetry collection?
The idea for the book came from an event in Liverpool which brought us together to talk about poetry. As lovers of poetry, we have often shared our passion with one another. The purpose of the event and the book is to encourage as many people as possible to embrace poetry — to break down any myths and stigmas that poetry is not for ordinary people. It gelled perfectly with Jeremy’s political slogan from the Labour Party 2017 Manifesto: ‘For the Many, not the Few.’
2. The selected poems range from Shakespeare to William Blake and Maya Angelou to the Mexican nun Juana Ines de la Cruz. What was the selection process?
Selecting the poems was the most difficult process as we both have hundreds to choose from. It was simply a matter of narrowing down to 25 favourites.
3. Melissa Benn, Rob Delaney, and Julie Hesmondhalgh are a few of the guests that selected poems for this title. What was your experience working with so many contributors?
Karie Murphy was the driving force behind the project, which she conceived. She had the job of coordinating all the contributors. A difficult task, given the busy schedules of everyone involved, but one which she enjoyed immensely.
4. What impact do you want this poetry collection to have on the stigma surrounding poetry (who reads poetry and who it’s written for), especially in the younger generations?
Poetry is a wonderful medium. We hope that this book will draw in younger and older people alike, especially those from working class communities, who have so much to contribute.
