Poet sought to 'celebrate' City of London bridges

Could you write poems about London's bridges for a year?

A poet is being sought to "celebrate" five of London's bridges as a charity hires a poet-in-residence for the first time in its 900-year history.

The City Bridge Foundation said the job involves writing about the capital's major Thames crossings, their history and the role they play in the life of Londoners today.

The selected poet will be paid £10,000 for the year-long role.

The foundation said the job was "the only one of its kind anywhere".

London's Tower Bridge is one of the five bridges the poet-in-residence will write about

The City Bridge Foundation maintains five of the bridges leading into the City of London, which are Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars bridges.

"For hundreds of years, our bridges have been central to the story of London during its happiest and its darkest moments, yet tributes to them in verse are surprisingly scarce," said foundation chairman Giles Shilson.

"Our new poet will celebrate the bridges' long history, their relationship with the city and the river and the vital role they play in the day-to-day life of modern Londoners."

'Tremendous opportunity'

The foundation said its first-ever poet-in-residence would be funded at no cost to the taxpayer.

The role is open to published poets of any style who either live in London or are able to regularly travel to the capital to visit the five bridges.

The Poetry Society, the UK's national organisation for poetry, is supporting the foundation's search for its poet-in-residence and will help manage the role.

Its director Judith Palmer said it was a "tremendous opportunity".

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