The Line: Poems From CWU Members

The CWU is proud to announce the launch of a new anthology of poems from CWU members. It is available as an e-book in the link below. It is a pay-as-you-feel publication, in the form of a donation to CWUHA. We suggest anything up to £5 is fair.

The line is at the heart of communications; lines on paper, dropped through letter boxes to excited recipients; lines of code travelling over telephone lines. As the pandemic has shown, CWU members have been the beating heart of our communities. This has not been without its toll. The stress we have all been under, the friends we have lost, what the future might be. More people than ever are looking for an outlet to share their thoughts, hopes and fears. We’ve all got something to say and poetry is the most democratic of art forms. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper and something to say. It fits around our busy lives. You can do it while you’re sat on the bus or waiting to pick up the kids. This is part of a rich tradition of working class self-expression. It is a real pleasure to see our members discovering the skills and confidence to share their poems. Personally, socially and politically, it is so important for working people to establish a platform to express ourselves. As Benjamin Zephaniah once said, “If you don’t write your story someone else will!” CWU members are making their voices heard.

Contributions to the collection are from members who have taken our poetry courses, entered our various competitions or become members of the CWU Poetry Club. We also have contributions from popular poets; Steve Pottinger, Emma Purshouse, Dave Pitt and Potent Whisper, all of whom have worked with us to develop the poetry workshops you can access through our CWU Left Click online learning platform. We are delighted to be able to share such a wide ranging collection of poems.

Click here to download The Line Poems By CWU Members

This is a pay-as-you-feel publication, in the form of a donation to CWUHA. We suggest anything up to £5 is fair.

Click here to make your donation to CWUHA.

Click here if you prefer to use Paypal.

The CWU offers a range of poetry courses online at www.cwu.org/leftclick. If you prefer something a little more sociable, we also run a poetry club on Zoom every Thursday evening. Contact pdovey@cwu.org for more details.