Once upon a time young Australians were encouraged in schools to learn poems off by heart and to recite them. This follows a long of recitation of poems by such luminaries as ‘Banjo’ Patterson, Henry Kendall, Dorothea McKellar, John O’Brien, CJ Dennis and Adam Lindsay Gordon. As well as poems by Australians, I remember as a school child learning and reciting Alfred Noyes’ ‘The Highwayman’, ‘Matilda’ (Hilaire Belloc) and ‘The Listeners’ (Walter De La Mare.)

It seems as though poetry recitation by young people in Australia is now a thing of the past, and, so far as I know, there is nothing in Australia such as the recitation competitions which are held annually in the UK.

Thanks to a contribution to this site by Australian children’s poet Kate O’Neill, I learnt this week of two UK projects that encourage young people to learn poetry off by heart — and recite them…