In this one-off preview episode of First Impressions – ahead of two poetry-themed episodes of the podcast – I speak to London-based poet Jacqueline Saphra about Poets for Ukraine, a fundraising/awareness-raising/spirit-raising project for which she is a driving force. This Sunday (27th March 2022), Poets for Ukraine will be running ‘a hybrid gala event’ at London’s JW3 featuring an international array of poets, which will also be available to view online. As well as discussing how Poets for Ukraine came about, and its aims, Jacqueline talks about the role poetry can play in a fractured world, recalls the powerful words of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, and shares a sonnet from her acclaimed collection ‘One Hundred Lockdown Sonnets’ (Nine Arches Press, 2021).
Jacqueline is a long-established poet and campaigner whose 2017 collection, ‘All My Mad Mothers’, was shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. Along with their Facebook page, you can find links to the organisations Poets for Ukraine are supporting below (Goods for Good & Hope and Aid Direct); to JW3 in London who are hosting the night (where you can pledge and get tickets or a link); to the projects partners that are giving their backing to it, and to Jacqueline’s own website. Please take a look and support this great cause if you can.
https://www.facebook.com/PoetsForUkraine
https://www.jw3.org.uk/whats-on/poets-ukraine-gala#
https://www.gofundme.com/f/poets-hope-and-aid
https://www.gofundme.com/f/poets-goods-for-good