Ode for Solihull

On 21st May 2019, in a Poetry On Loan funded event, poet Giovanni Esposito –  a.k.a. “Spoz” – joined library staff and members of the public on a guided walk around the historic heart of the old Solihull village.

After the walk, the participants returned to the Core for a well-earned break and a chat about Solihull’s history, looking at some of the thousands of old photographs in the library’s Heritage & Local Studies collections. Spoz then wrote a poem incorporating people’s suggestions and his own reflections on the local history of Solihull.

During Libraries Week 2019, Spoz returned to the Core Library Solihull to perform the World Premiere of “Ode For Solihull”, which he gave us permission to record and make available.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and can get all the references to Solihull’s history. The full text of the poem is below, if you want to have a read through (click to enlarge).

Tracey
Heritage & Local Studies Librarian