Poetry as currency

A global experiment took place on World Poetry Day in which customers of Julius Menl coffee shops can pay for their drinks by writing a poem. The chain ran the same programme last year with much success – sadly, only one store in London and one in Edinburgh is taking part this year (it hasn’t made it to Costa just yet!). Text Artist Robert Montgomery will be collecting some of the poems afterwards and turning them into an art installation at a hidden London location. The intention of the scheme is to emphasise the importance of keeping poetry alive, and to encourage creativity and expression.

The intention of the scheme is to emphasise the importance of keeping poetry alive, and to encourage creativity and expression

In a video on Julius Meinl’s website, Montgomery states that everyone has the ability to be a poet, and that by using poems instead of money for the day we are allowing a transaction of opinions, something which we perhaps lack in our society. I think the symbolism of this movement is poignant. So often we are stifled from expressing our voices for fear of hurting others, told to give up creativity in order to do something ‘realistic’, and with the way governments work – even with democracy. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, how many people really get the chance to “say just what they mean”?

Sharing poetry for a day isn’t going to change the world, but I think it could be an important step to let people know that it is okay to try something new, open yourself up to something

Sharing poetry for a day isn’t going to change the world, but I think it could be an important step to let people know that it is okay to try something new, open yourself up to something – the poems don’t have to be life changing. What I like about poetry is how much it can reveal about your state of mind, even if it is about something seemingly trivial. If it rhymes – are you feeling happy? If it’s long – are you keeping something bottled up? If it’s abstract – maybe you’re confused, and need the extra space on the page to get your thoughts in order.

So often we are stifled from expressing our voices for fear of hurting others, told to give up creativity in order to do something ‘realistic’

Poetry is a small art form, one that creates ripples rather than a splash, and perhaps by encouraging the public to think more emotionally rather than commercially just for a day, these ripples could become something much bigger. If nothing else, you could get a free coffee out of it!

Image Credits: Illicit Photorgraphy / Flickr (Header)