This summer's blockbuster, Christopher Nolan's movie 'The Odyssey' has met with mixed reviews. Some have considered it superficial, too long, and obsessed with spectacle, overlooking deeper psychological and ethical messages. Others were delighted at the special effects, music and the casting in an epic piece of cinema.
Either way, there have been huge attendances at cinemas and also a vast increase in sales of the original text - up by 1,400% in the weeks around the release of the film. The audio by Stephen Fry has also proved popular, in the top 10 on Spotify, with Ian McKellen's narration appearing in the US chart.
Press coverage has been keen to highlight that poetry in general has risen in popularity in recent times - not solely due to the interest in Homer this year. With increases in sales for the last three years, this year is projected to be the best yet for poetry collections - at £17m.
Social media is believed to be key in raising the profile of poets such as Lucas Jones, Nikita Gill and Len Pennie. Donna Ashworth is Britain's bestselling living poet of the decade with her 2025 collection 'To The Women' selling almost 34,000 copies this year. Films of the poems of Hollie McNish have repeatedly gone viral with some gaining over one million YouTube views in just over a week. And Harry Baker has a growing presence at festivals, on radio, sell out tours and TedTalks.
The reason? 'All writing is about connection,' says Ella Risbridger in her article in the 'Guardian' this week. 'But the immediacy of the connection between author and reader is somehow easiest in poetry: when it works, there's a direct shot to the heart...social media offers these poets a new way to gather people round the fire...Poetry needs the new so that it can keep on telling the oldest stories we have: love, despair, grief, hope, joy, community, companionship. Long may it live'.
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