A few weeks ago Book a Poet were contacted by a company who research and produce content for the BBC. They wanted Alison Chisholm to advise them about poetry, in particular poems that covered certain themes as they wanted to use a poem in their new trailer for BBC, to air on Boxing Day.
Alison worked with the team both from her home and visiting the team in London. Alison suggested a Cento - which, in essence, is a 'mash-up' of lines from other poems compiled together to make a new poem. The poem included lines from Alison as well as several other poets; John Keats, Arthur O'Shaughnessy, James Elroy Flecker, Walter Savage Landor, Pecry Bysshe Shelley and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
The finished Cento is:
Much have I travelled in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen,
But still I long to learn tales, marvellous tales,
Of ships and stars and isles where good men rest,
How others fought to forge my world.
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What wild ecstasy?
We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Step forward,
To feel the blood run through the veins and tingle
Where busy thought and blind sensation mingle.
Come, my friends, 'tis not too late,
For we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems;
To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.
You can view the 'Celebrating BBC Two' advert on You Tube - http://youtu.be/cQqLRw8Ja6s - we are sure you'll enjoy it, it's beautifully done and we're very pleased to have been a tiny part of it!
You can find out more about Alison Chisholm at Book a Poet!
