LUDLOW-based poet Steve Griffiths announces an ambitious and exciting film and social media poetry project supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

The Late Love Poems film project is centred around Steve Griffiths’ poems celebrating the recovery, 35 years on, of the love of his twenties. Steve's performances of 30 of the poems are being filmed in a range of settings, and will be uploaded to YouTube poem by poem on a weekly basis beginning in July, culminating with publication of the collection Late Love Poems by Cinnamon Press in January next year, in time for Valentine's Day.

Late Love Poems are a series of celebrations and meditations, poems of playfulness and tragedy, loss and recovery. It's a story of two young people who were together in the seventies, went their separate ways, made their lives and had families; and came together again in their mid-fifties.

“Of all the poems I've written, these are the ones I've wanted most to share, because they reach back across time from moments of celebration and renewal to how it felt to be young, so they make some sense of my life in a way that hopefully people will recognise - and enjoy," says Steven. "Thanks to the support of Arts Council England, I've got a great team for this project and we're going to reach out through social media to an audience for what's becoming a voyage of discovery as the films take shape."

Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “Poetry is a powerful way for us to share stories and one of the Arts Council’s ambitions is to invest in projects which connect audiences with new writing. By using social media to share Steve’s films, they will be available for people to see all over England and around the globe, offering greater opportunities for everyone to hear and enjoy his poems.”

The Late Love Poems film project will be supported by social media partners from the arts, libraries and other community networks to engage with a wide audience and Steve and his team – including acclaimed film company Park6Productions - are actively looking for social media partners so if you, your business or organisation would like to be involved, please do contact us.