A community initiative aimed at raising the profile of poetry across Purbeck will be officially launched with a free public event in Swanage, Dorset.
Poetry Purbeck will hold its first poetry evening at Swanage library on Wednesday 21st January 2026, starting at 6.15 pm, inviting residents of all ages and backgrounds to come together to read, write and listen to poetry.
Swanage library aims to be a relaxed and welcoming setting for the Poetry Purbeck launch
Ambitious long term plans
The launch event is being run in partnership with the Purbeck Sounds radio programme Words to Inspire and Swanage Library, and will feature poetry readings from local poets, a short creative writing workshop, an open mic session and light refreshments.
Organisers say the evening is designed to be inclusive and accessible, whether people are seasoned writers, occasional readers or complete newcomers to poetry.
At the heart of Poetry Purbeck is Fiona Sturrock, presenter of Words to Inspire on Purbeck Sounds, who says the idea grew organically from the breadth of poetry activity already taking place across the area.
And Poetry Purbeck already has ambitious long term plans, including regular poetry workshops, presence at Swanage’s major festivals, a publication inviting submissions from local writers and even a poetry festival of its own.
Fiona Sturrock and local author Nick Jubber on an outreach event at The Swanage School
“We ought to be doing something together”
Fiona Sturrock said:
“There is so much going on locally already – I started Words to Inspire in October 2024 with the aim of making poetry accessible to everyone, and since then I’ve seen a huge appetite for it.
“My guests have ranged from famous award winning poets to teenagers who say they don’t like poetry and end up writing their first poem on air.
“One of my commitments is to profile local poets and also the providers of poetry in the area, so I got all of these people on the show, from Melissa Viney at Sandy Hill Arts, performance poet Martin Hobdell, librarian Peter McCarthy, who specialises in Japanese haiku, geopoet Patrick Corbett from Burngate – and I realised we really ought to be doing something together.
“So the idea of Poetry Purbeck is that we come together to serve the community, working with schools, Swanage Carnival, Purbeck Art Weeks, the Literary Festival, and help to build up the profile of poetry in the local community.”
The Swanage Poetree – for children and for adults – encourages library visitors to write their own poetry
Words from the Poetree
Its official launch event at Swanage Library hopes to give people a flavour of that collective approach, with readings from local poets, an open mic session where anyone can share their own work, and a short creative writing activity designed to help people overcome the fear of the blank page.
One of the highlights will be the Poetree, an idea already familiar to library visitors where poems written on paper leaves are clipped to a tree display, to create a growing visual celebration of local voices.
Fiona regularly reads selected Poetree poems out on her radio show, creating what she describes as a beautiful synergy between the library, its users of all ages and Purbeck Sound listeners.
Swanage Library has played a key role in Poetry Purbeck, and librarian and poet Amy Hayhurst said staff were excited to be hosting the launch and helping to build a local poetry hub.
Librarian and poet Amy Hayhurst (left) is helping to promote poetry at Swanage library
“The enthusiasm is really infectious”
Amy Hayhurst said:
“The Poetrees – we have two, one in the children’s library and one for adults – actually came out of a workshop that Fiona hosted here and since then we’ve grown our permanent collection of poetry books.
“Because of the success of Poetry Purbeck we are trying to encourage people not just to read poetry but to write their own, so we have asked our visitors for suggestions of books they would like us to include, and have set aside space for people to write.
“Swanage library already does lots of regular events for children, like Star Time and Rhyme Time, which are always really well attended, and we recently had a local author, Nick Jubber, come in to do a workshop on monsters and myths for the children, which was amazing.
“We are going to display poems that students at Swanage School have written, which we hope will encourage more teenagers to come in and get involved.
“All the staff here have really taken it on board – three members of staff wrote their own poems for the first time and read them out on the radio! The enthusiasm is really infectious, leading people to feel more courageous about writing and reading their own work.”
Everyone is welcome to the free launch event of Poetry Purbeck at Swanage library on Wednesday 21st January 2026
Further information
- Listen to Words to Inspire on Purbeck Sounds radio
- All events at Swanage Library are listed on its website
