#HumansOfSouthbank a new series exploring the extraordinary patrons, staff & participants who bring the Southbank Centre to life - starting with Lorraine Mariner award-winning poet and Assistant Librarian at the National Poetry Library 📝📒🗣️ 💬 "I've been working at the NPL for 15 years, I can't quite believe I've been here that long, it sort of crept up on me but I think it's a sign of how much I love working here. I remember when I got the job a friend was a bit worried that I'd get overwhelmed by all the poetry and my writing would suffer but I think being immersed in something is the only way to get better and your individual voice can hold up. We advise new writers who contact the library asking for advice to read as much as possible and I think that's why the library is so important, people can come and borrow in person or on eloans poetry books that are hot off the press. We welcome school visits to the library and recently I was in touch with a teacher over email booking in her class and she suddenly realised that she'd had my poem Say I Forgot read at her wedding. It was very weird to think of my poem going off into the world without me and making an appearance at a wedding, even though we regularly help people find poems for weddings through our enquiry service. But it's also a great feeling to know that something you've written can speak to and for other people..." 📅 Lorraine will read this Thursday (28 July) as part of @outspokenldn monthly poetry & spoken word night 🔗 Click the 'What's on' link in bio for info Lorraine Mariner’s debut collection Furniture was shortlisted for the #ForwardPrize for Best First Collection and the Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize. Her second collection is There Will Be No More Nonsense, and her most recent Anchorage was published last year. 📸 Portrait by Pete Woodhead #Poetry #Writing #Writer #SpokenWord #NPL #NationalPoetryLibrary #PoetryLibrary #Library #PoetryCommunity #PoetsOfInstagram #PoetsOfIG #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryGram #Southbank #SouthbankCentre