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Griff Rhys Jones

Simon Armitage

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Louise Hooper

Why Poetry Matters

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

20/05/2009

BBC Two - Why Poetry Matters

Griff Rhys Jones explores how verse has the power to enlighten, entertain and stimulate.

Griff Rhys Jones explores the power of verse, dissecting Keats with Simon Armitage, encountering an experimental poem made from beach balls and experiencing a poetry slam.

Griff Rhys Jones makes a passionate and personal plea for poetry, exploring how verse has the power to enlighten, entertain, stimulate and seduce. 

Griff dissects Keats with Simon Armitage, views a line-up of poetic dandies with Andrew Motion and encounters an experimental poem made from a dozen beach balls. He celebrates W.H. Auden's Night Mail with a team of railway drivers, takes a Shakespearean masterclass with Nick Hytner and is thrown into the bardic bear pit at a poetry slam.

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