The importance of poetry and reading between the lines | Letters

Poets are writing about the “tumultuous events of our day” – Ruth Padel cites Ben Okri’s poem on Grenfell Tower as an example (In dark times turn to your inner poet, 13 December), and there was Tony Walsh’s moving poem entitled This is the Place, recited after the Manchester Arena bombing. However, the Guardian could do more to boost the impact of poetry. It will always be regarded as an addendum to the arts if the media also regard it as a less important lens.

Just as photos show the terrible horrors of war, a poem on the front page, perhaps alongside a photo, could portray the depths of the lived experience of being in a war zone. I remember the impact of A Cold Coming by Tony Harrison, published by the Guardian in 1991 and again in 2003 – the emotional response created by that poem was seared on to my memory. That is the true power of poetry.