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Poetry meets politics at Parthian

Welsh independent Parthian Books is publishing an anthology of poems chosen by international political figures, including Gerry Adams’ pick of “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats, and Tony Blair’s choice of “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke.

World Leaders’ Favourite Poems: A Book of Peace will be launched in April (p/b, £7.99). It was born out of a chance encounter on a Frankfurt train between a group of UK publishers and the book’s creator Mehmet Basci. A Turkish Kurd now based in Switzerland, Basci began his project in 2003 with the aim of creating a collection that he hoped would change readers’ perceptions of politics, and thereby help to bring lasting peace to the world.

Parthian’s commitment to poetry meant that Basci’s idea struck a particular chord, and marketing director Dominic Williams decided to get involved. He said: “Some choices were more obvious than ­others, but the collection as a whole [gives] a very personal insight into the minds of some of the world’s most powerful men and women.”

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