Teenagers 'inspired' by Mancunian performance poet

Mike Garry said young people need to know their voices are being heard

"Poetry can validate young people and give them a voice."

That was the message to pupils at a secondary school in Bolton, Greater Manchester, who say they have been "inspired" to express themselves through poetry after a visit from a Mancunian poet.

Performance poet Mike Garry said he wanted to "empower young people and make them see the world differently".

He spoke to English students at St James' C of E High School in Farnworth about the power of reading.

"It's important for young people to realise than not all poets are dead," he said.

Garry added: "They need to hear a voice which is familiar in sound and music to theirs.

"They need to hear poems that speak about the places they know or at least heard of.

"They need to see their lives and experiences in poetry. It validates them.

"It says, 'your voice is important and so is your world'."

Mike Garry performed poems, including Signify, which is inspired by his own teacher

St James' Year 10 student Tumukunde said she felt poetry was a way of expressing the "deeper meaning of life", adding that "a big message can be said with very few words".

Garry had "made it make sense",15-year-old Oren said.

"He solidified everything I've been told about reading."

Jayden, 15, said the poetry "spoke to us and not at us".

Oliver, 15, was impressed by the "energy" which comes from performance poetry and Eden, 15, said it had been "inspirational".

Head of English at St James' Victoria Kilgour said she felt "words are power" for her students.

"Through reading, our young people can be empowered to express their feelings, speak their desires, challenge their thinking and that of others and break barriers."

Students say poems can help them convey a "big message"

Garry graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Library and Information Studies and went on to work as a librarian for 15 years before becoming a poet.

In 2015, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Education at Manchester Metropolitan in recognition of his commitment to promoting reading and literacy in young people throughout the UK.

His work with young people in Manchester has also won him awards from the Prince's Trust and the National Literacy Trust.