Original recordings by the poets behind ‘The Mersey Sound’ anthology will be played across Liverpool on 25 May to celebrate the book’s 50th anniversary.

The poetry recitals from Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger McGough will be heard during peak commuter times on the Mersey Ferries, at independent book shop News from Nowhere and Tate Liverpool, among other locations.

The recordings will also be played in the foyer of Edge Hill University’s Arts Centre, Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Art and Design during a private viewing of its Degree Show – and throughout its duration until Friday 9 June – as well as on BBC Radio Merseyside throughout the day.

Creative writing students from Edge Hill will also give readings from the anthology at the Everyman Theatre at 7.30pm, joined by poets Robert Sheppard and Patricia Farrell.

There will be pop-up readings on some local buses and trains as well as The Danny steamboat and the Double Decker Diner, both of which will be stationed at the Albert Dock on the day.

The anniversary celebrations form part of the Tonight At Noon festival, which is curated by Adrian’s partner Catherine Marcangeli.

Catherine says: “In the 1960s, the Liverpool poets performed in a variety of venues – theatres, bars, cafés, but also sometimes in more unexpected places, like buses and public spaces.

“On May 25, the idea is to go back to this sort of ‘guerrilla poetry’, to surprise people with poems being read live or broadcast through the day and throughout the city.”

Other highlights from the Tonight at Noon event include a performance from Sonic Youth frontman and Mersey Sound fan Thurston Moore at St George’s Hall on 30 May, a poetry recital event featuring new commissions inspired by the anthology at The Bluecoat on 16 June, and an event charting the rise of its authors at Central Library on 15 July.

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