The power of poetry
6 Minute English
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Do you like to read poetry? When was the last time you heard someone recite a poem? Some people may just think of poetry as something they studied at school, but for many people it has a powerful presence in their lives. Poetry can help you connect with others, come to terms with personal emotions, or even spread the word about important global events. If you think poetry is not for you, perhaps you just haven't found the right poem yet! Neil and Pippa discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Got another six minutes? We have lots more to help you with your English. Try real easy |
| 0:11.8 | English to learn from natural English conversations or learn some English from the biggest |
| 0:17.5 | new stories from around the world. Search BBC Learning English in your podcast app to find our other programmes |
| 0:24.0 | or find much more at BBC LearningEnglish.com. |
| 0:29.1 | Six Minute English from BBC LearningEnglish.com. |
| 0:35.9 | Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. |
| 0:40.3 | And I'm Pippa. In this episode, we're discussing poetry. For some, poetry is what you study at school, then forget, while for others it becomes an important part of their life. |
| 0:52.6 | Have you ever read or written any poetry, Neil? |
| 0:55.7 | Well, I haven't written any poetry since I was at school. |
| 0:59.8 | I would love to read more poetry, but I just don't get it, really. |
| 1:04.9 | I find it difficult to understand. |
| 1:07.1 | A good place to hear poetry is an open mic night, |
| 1:10.6 | a live event where anyone is allowed to stand up on stage to sing or recite poems. |
| 1:16.4 | Here, BBC reporter Maria recites her open mic poem about a friend who suffered a stroke for BBC World Service programme, People Fixing the World. |
| 1:25.4 | This is a poem, I wrote it about a friend who I love dearly. |
| 1:28.8 | It's called Stroke. |
| 1:30.8 | You're awake and trying to grasp who it is. |
| 1:33.7 | I pull my mask past my lips and you study my face. |
| 1:37.0 | Eyes wide. |
| 1:38.8 | I've enough stuff to tell you, I say, sinking into a chair. |
| 1:49.2 | I stare. Sometimes if you go to an open mic night, people can really touch your soul with what they're saying and even if you're having a bad day, life can |
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