The Southbank Centre has announced poet Roger McGough as the celebrity ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, alongside the full touring route for the new national flagship national project bringing a mobile National Poetry Library to 11 coastal towns across the UK. Inspired by the travelling exhibitions of the 1951 Festival of Britain, it forms a key part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme.
Led by the Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library in collaboration with 11 partners, A Poet In Every Port brings a selection of the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry, alongside free public events, workshops and poetry readings to each nation of the UK, from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, to Penzance in Cornwall; Bangor in Northern Ireland to Caernarfon in Wales.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Roger McGough as ambassador for A Poet In Every Port. Hailed as ‘the patron saint of poetry’, Roger is one of Britain’s most beloved wordsmiths, defined by a signature blend of Merseyside wit, accessibility, and warmth. He has a unique ability to bridge the gap between literary excellence and community engagement, making him the perfect figurehead to unite our 11 partner organisations and champion our shared voyage.
This intergenerational project sees the National Poetry Library taking their bespoke collection on the road, navigating coastal communities and the unique poetry and spoken word that gives voice to them. This is a key project in the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary programme, where participants consider what it means to be the arts centre of the future, and how, through creativity and culture, everyone can make a difference to people’s lives. In collaboration with a group of partners, the project will engage with hundreds of schoolchildren from across the UK, aged 8 – 16 and community groups.
In this 75th year, A Poet In Every Port provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the significant role poetry has played in the Southbank Centre’s history, while creating a lasting contemporary archive of modern coastal voices for the future”.
Roger McGough, ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, said:
“May I begin by saying how honoured and excited I feel about being appointed Ambassador for such a worthwhile project, helping to promote something that has been central to me my whole life: Poetry. And not only poetry, but the Southbank Centre itself, because I remember when I was 14 being brought to London by my parents and being overawed by the Festival of Britain celebrations. Until then I thought only Liverpudlians knew how to enjoy themselves.
As ambassador I will help promote something I have loved all my life. Helping others reach out and touch people through poetry. Guiding the reader towards thoughts and ideas they didn’t know they had. Above all else, writing poetry is what helps us feel human, vulnerable and yet powerful, and above all, alive”.
Patricia Hamilton, Aspects Festival Director / Arts Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council commented:
“Aspects Festival is thrilled to be part of this prestigious national poetry project led by Southbank Centre. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the richness of local voices, especially participating poets Amy Louise Wyatt and Denisa Hasieberova, who have been selected to be part of the New Poets Collective, telling stories about the local area and showcasing the creative talent.
Aspects Festival believes this initiative will inspire audiences here in Bangor and beyond to engage with poetry in fresh and exciting ways”.
The mobile National Poetry Library will visit Aspects Festival in Bangor on 25 and 26 September 2026.
For more information on A Poet In Every Port project, visit: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/create-learn/talent-artist-development/a-poet-in-every-port/
Roger McGough biography
Poet, performer and broadcaster, Roger McGough has published over 100 poetry books for adults and children and has been hailed ‘the patron saint of poetry’ and ‘the godfather of modern poetry’. He was one of the Liverpool poets, alongside Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, who influenced popular culture in the sixties. The Mersey Sound, published in 1967, is one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time, selling over a million copies. In the 1960’s he formed The Scaffold with John Gorman, and Mike McGear, performing a combination of comic songs, poetry and sketches who had several top 20 singles including the hit song ‘Lily the Pink’. He has won numerous awards, including The Cholmondeley Award in 1988, received the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2001, and was awarded a CBE in 2004. A Fellow of The Royal Society and President of The Poetry Society, he presents the popular Radio 4 Poetry Please series. His most recent book is “Collected Poems 1959-2024”, published by Penguin.
About the Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest multi-arts centre and engages the most diverse audiences of any performing arts organisation in the UK. Our biggest venue, the Royal Festival Hall (2,700 seats) is the lasting legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the ambition and values of that project – that arts, ideas, innovation and culture can heal communities and should be available and accessible to everyone – are still our guiding principles today. The Southbank Centre is uniquely able to offer a wide-ranging, inclusive and world-class artistic programme spanning contemporary visual arts, music, dance, performance, literature, comedy and spoken word across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, the Hayward Gallery and our free spaces. We are also home to the National Poetry Library, the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), two resident organisations (Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors) and six resident orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra).
About the Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library
The Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library is the largest public collection of modern poetry in the world and is housed at the Southbank Centre in London. Founded by the Arts Council in 1953 and opened by poets T.S. Eliot and Herbert Read, the library contains over 200,000 items spanning from 1912 to the present day, extensive resources for poets, academics, schools and families. Hosting exhibitions and events, as well as offering an extensive catalogue and ebook service accessible online, the library is free to use www.nationalpoetrylibrary.org.uk
