RECENTLY Britain staged a National Poetry Day. Towns and cities opened their doors to poets and poetry - described in the Oxford English Dictionary as "An elevated expression of elevated thought".

So I went to Bury Art Gallery to enjoy an evening of beauty and culture. What I got was the most disgusting hour I have every experienced in the name of Art.

The Prima Donna kept us waiting for half an hour for her gems of culture. The audience consisted of 17 women, including young twins, and one man - myself. Four other men attended, one as organiser and three supporting contributors.

The guest speaker started out and I sat back to enjoy the evening. The three main "poems" consisted of foul diatribes against men with the "F" word screeched at least three times. Other attempts at poetry were interspersed with inconsequential chatter about her private life. This, then, was Bury's contribution to the Day of Culture. English is a beautiful language and boasts so many wonderful poets that when I listened to this filth I wondered what Keats, Milton, Wordsworth, Shelley and others would have thought of this offering. I was told that it was "contemporary", "of its day", but that is rubbish. There was always filth - even in the days of the poets I have mentioned.

So why does everything have to be brought down to this level? Who authorised it? Who chose it? Who organised it? What are they doing to this wonderful country, to this beautiful language, to this pleasant Lancashire borough? Is this all they think we are good for? Is anything good enough for Bury?

As a retired alderman I would have been ashamed if my local authority was demeaned like this. I think everyone who was associated with it should be directed to the an nearest Jobcentre.

E. D. SALEM,

Manchester Old Road, Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.