There have been many famous long poems in literary history, of course, from Anglo-Saxon sagas such as Beowulf through Medieval poems such as The Canterbury Tales via Paradise Lost and Wordsworth’s Prelude … all of which are tough acts to follow. Gez thinks he can do better – but he needs the help of all you poets out there!

Here, you can either read more about Gez, read the poem so far, write a bit of your own, or read the names of the people who have helped so far.

All about Gez

Write your bit of the poem!

Details of people who've helped write to the poem

The Poem!

The bid for the World's Longest Poem was launched at the Central Library, Halifax by Gez and the Discover Children's team on Saturday 24 January. Have a look at Calderdale Libraries' web site:

Want to buy a book by Gez Walsh? Have a look in our on-line shop.

QUESTION: will I see my bit of the poem straight away?

ANSWER: no! It all has to be read first by a little old man called Grimr the Makar, who lives in a room near the attic. It's his job to check every word of every line against his law books to make sure there are no problems. His cat sleeps on the desk and she doesn't like to be disturbed, so it may take a day or two...

Here's a picture of Grimr the Makar hard at work: