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Professor Sir Andrew Motion, British Poet Laureate 1999-2009, delivers the third Centenary Distinguished Lecture “Poetry in Life”

10 Mar 2011

 

As part of its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2011-2012, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is proud to present a series of Centenary Distinguished Lectures. The third lecture was delivered today (March 10) by Professor Sir Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom 1999-2009.

Over 300 guests and members of the public attended the lecture by Sir Andrew entitled "Poetry in Life" at HKU's Rayson Huang Theatre. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Professor Douglas Kerr of the University's School of English, with Professor Leung Ping-kwan, Poet and Critic at Lingnan University; and Ms. Christine Loh, CEO of Civic Exchange, as guest panelists.

In a very personal lecture, Sir Andrew talked about his childhood and the events in his life that have influenced his poetry, what it means to live as a writer, and what he looks for and enjoys in the writing of others. He reflected on the ways in which poets transform the details of their own experience to make their work, in his case, most poignantly, the serious accident and death of his mother.

He expressed his view that this connection between poetry and life is such that poems should seem a part of familiar existence rather than a strange addition to it. This conviction led him to create the Poetry Archive, a web-based collection of poets reading their work, as a means of bringing poetry to a wider audience. The site currently has over a quarter of a million regular visitors.

 "Why do I think poetry belongs in life? Because I believe that although we might happen to learn quite complicated and sophisticated ways to write it, and to speak about it, poetry is essentially a very primitive thing. A fundamental thing. A way of speaking that puts us in touch with our essential selves," concluded Sir Andrew.

On Friday (March 11), a small group of senior secondary school students and university undergraduates will exchange views with Professor Sir Andrew Motion in an activity called ‘Lunch with a Laureate', which has been set up as an extension of the Centenary Distinguished Lectures.  The activity aims to help the students to broaden their horizons by meeting face-to-face with some of the most brilliant minds in the world today.

Delivered by Nobel Laureates and distinguished scholars from a wide range of disciplines, the Centenary Distinguished Lectures will bring some of the most brilliant minds of today to HKU, to share their expertise, experience and world-class scholarship with the University community and the public. Apart from Professor Sir Andrew Motion, other eminent scholars who will visit HKU in March and May include Professor Kurt Wüthrich, 2002 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Professor Wu Jinglian, renowned economist in China; and Professor Elinor Ostrom, 2009 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences.

For media enquiries, please contact Miss Phyllis Mak, Programme Manager, Faculty of Arts, HKU (Tel: 2859 8048, email: kpmak@hku.hk ) or Ms Carol Ho, Assistant Manager (Event & Media), Communications and Public Affairs Office, HKU (Tel: 2219 4263 /email: carho@hku.hk).

Sir Andrew gives a lecture "Poetry in Life"


Professor Sir Andrew Motion (left) and Professor Roland Chin, HKU Deputy Vice-Chancellor