In 2026 we partnered up with Southbank Centre for A Poet In Every Port. Inspired by the spirit of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the National Poetry Library went on tour, stopping at 11 coastal locations to celebrate 75 years of the Southbank Centre. The Mobile Poetry Van visited Blackpool on 25 and 26 July 2026 as part of a two day festival across Blackpool Central Library, Stanley Park and Bootleg Social, featuring workshops, live poetry and music performances for all ages.
As part of the project’s legacy, we commissioned the Stanley Park Tree Trail: A Way With Words, inviting the public to seek out and be inspired by trees planted in Stanley Park by Blackpool communities 75 years ago as part of the Festival of Britain. You can still take part in the trail and share your poems with us by downloading a ‘print at home’ version of the trail map below:
Join the National Poetry Library
You can continue your journey with poetry and access the UK’s largest public collection on modern poetry from anywhere in the world. Join for free today and start browsing online: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/national-poetry-library/join-the-library/.
New Poets Collective 25/26
Rob Mason was chosen to represent Blackpool in Southbank Centre’s New Poets Collective 25/26, a UK-wide Artist Development scheme which has so far nurtured and developed four cohorts comprising poets from across the UK.
“I find poetry incredibly cathartic. It’s an introspective process a lot of the time.”
Having been a DJ for 27 years Blackpool’s Rob has long viewed ‘performing as a great thrill’, yet despite having ‘always had a knack with words’, he’d never considered himself a poet. However, since completing an English degree as a mature student, and having been drawn to the ‘cathartic’ nature of poetry as a means to ‘work out what’s going on in the world and inside [his] own head’, he’s duly ‘thrown myself in at the deep end’.
Humour is a big part of Mason’s work and he relates strongly to ‘the gritty northern wit of Toria Garbutt’ and the ‘absurd poetry’ of Tim Key, and cites Brian Bilston’s ‘playful style’ and ‘phenomenal wordplay’ as a notable influence. He also credits collaborator and fellow Blackpool poet Nathan Parker, with whom he ran Blackpool’s much-loved By The Meter night, as ‘putting [him] on this path’.
Of Blackpool Mason states that ‘I love the town and sing it from the roof tops’, so is thrilled ‘to be able to put Blackpool on the cultural map and share more art and culture with the people of the town’ through A Poet in Every Port. He is also looking forward to the opportunity to hone his craft and carve out a new collection of work.
Find out more…
A Poet In Every Port is a Southbank Centre initiative which aims to celebrate the UK’s diverse dialects and languages by telling the stories of our coastal communities and showing that poetry is for everyone.
Find out more about A Poet In Ever Port by visiting Southbank Centre’s website:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/create-learn/talent-artist-development/a-poet-in-every-port
