Black Sheep of Britain Needs Your Love Poems

April is National Poetry month here in the US, and it seems the town of Luton, outside London, is getting in on the fun, in an attempt to inspire the muses.

In 2004, Luton, a former millinery and car manufacturing center, was declared the worst town in Britian. Since then local agencies have worked to change that image. And now a promotional consortium called Luton First has announced a creative way to sweeten the image of their home. The group, which includes among them, the Luton Airport and the University of Luton, is seeking poetic odes about the town that will eventually be published in a paperback titled Love Luton. Performance poet and Luton’s own hometown hero, John Hegley, is also backing the project.

Will Lutonites put pen to paper and produce poetic prasie for their ego-injured city? As one local put it when the worst town rating came out back in ’04: “Whether it is Newark, Coventry, Salford or Stoke, crap towns have always inspired and motivated those with bigger dreams.” I guess it must be possible that the next great work of literature could indeed emerge from good old Luton. If you feel inspired to visit and do some writing of your own, why not head over for the annual Luton Carnival, which takes place on May 28.