Words on Wheels in Derry for National Poetry Day
A new community poetry event will take to the streets of Derry this National Poetry Day as Words on Wheels combines live literature with a gentle guided cycle across the city on Thursday, May 28.
The free event in Derry will be hosted by award-winning spoken word poet Cat Brogan and invites participants to travel together by bike, stopping at locations around Derry to hear poems inspired by this year’s National Poetry Day theme, Home, Cycling and the City.
Presented in partnership with Poetry Ireland and Life Cycles, the event blends poetry, place and community engagement in an accessible format designed to reach audiences beyond traditional literary spaces.
Along the route, participants will also be invited to take part in an open “bike”, sharing their own poems — or favourite poems by others — connected to the city, memory, belonging and home.
The cycle will begin at Life Cycles Outdoors, Ebrington Square, with bikes provided for participants. The route will be slow-paced, mostly off-road and suitable for a wide range of abilities.
Cat Brogan said: “Words on Wheels is about experiencing poetry in motion and reconnecting with the city through language, memory and shared experience. I wanted to create something social, accessible and a little unexpected — a way for people to encounter poetry outside formal venues and discover new perspectives on the places we move through every day.”
Words on Wheels takes place on Thursday, May 28 from 6pm to 8pm, meeting at Life Cycles Outdoors, Ebrington Square.
Registration to take part is essential and can be done online at: bit.ly/wordsonwheels1