Children’s poetry is about to undergo a revival, suggests a new book by Fellows at the Faculty of Education.

Poetry and Childhood, edited by David Whitley, Louise Joy and Morag Styles, is a collection of the latest research into children’s poetry, and gives an optimistic assessment of its state and fate.

The book follows a conference of the same name which was held at the university last year, and both are evidence of the resurgent interest in children’s verse, in schools and universities.

This academic interest is combined with a growing enthusiasm among poets and fans of children’s poetry. Successive Poet Laureates have shown a continued commitment to the promotion of poetry for children.

Ex-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and ex-Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen have gone to considerable effort to keep poetry alive in a world where the way we read is constantly changing. The establishment of the children’s online poetry archive and Rosen’s YouTube presence are testament to this.

The impact of modernity and technology has not gone unnoticed by the book’s editors. As David Whitley notes, “we are seeing various interventions which recognize that the very qualities that have led to poetry’s decline – the special attention it requires, its precision and ability to lodge in the deepest recesses of memory – may be exactly what’s needed to counterbalance the quick-fire nature of children’s development in the digital age”.

The news follows gloomy reports on the enthusiasm for poetry in schools, and with teachers. A UKLA survey of 1200 British primary schools found that 22 per cent of teachers could not name a single poet and only 3 per cent reported that they had read poetry aloud to a class.

Rebecca Tron, a first year English and Education student, was pleased by the news. “I think this is excellent – poetry can really ignite the imagination,” she said. “Hopefully it will inspire a new generation of readers and writers of poetry.”