Bard labour: boost workplace productivity 'by reading a poem'

Poetry world thrilled at news the New York Times’ morning meeting begins with Wordsworth or Simic

Those seeking to have more productive morning meetings are often advised to hold them standing up, keep them as short as possible and – in desperate times – to serve coffee and pastries. A US newspaper executive had a different idea: read a poem.

In a recent column, the New York Times’ Marc Lacey wrote that – as well as discussing how best to cover natural disasters, mass shootings and political scandals – the paper’s otherwise grim morning news meeting had acquired the new feature to “inspire us and boost our creativity”.