Roald Dahl: Long-lost poem recovered by Tyrone school

Date:

9/13/2016

Time:

04:52:36

Source:

BBC News

Content:

A long-lost Roald Dahl poem penned for pupils at a County Tyrone primary school is on display to mark the authors 100th birthday. The 1988 Primary Five class of Primate Dixon Primary School in Coalisland, had just finished Dahls Danny, the Champion of the World, when they decided they should write to the author. It was not long before the creator of Willy Wonka, Miss Trunchbull and the Twits replied in his own unique style. According to The Irish News, it was addressed to teacher James Maye and his class and Dahls poem contrasted the Tyrone schoolteachers approach to that of his own. "From your letters to me it would seem, That your teacher is clearly a dream. Theres no whacks on the bum, When you cant do a sum, Instead you get strawberries and cream", he wrote. But the letter and poem were placed in a drawer where, for almost 30 years, Dahls correspondence did little but gather dust. "It wasnt until 2012 that our vice principal Siobhan Murphy was clearing out an old desk, an old desk that could easily have been thrown out, and came across the letter," Primate Dixons principal Sean Dillon told the BBC. He said the school "knew straight away" of the significance of their literary find. The principals initial research showed the previously unpublished poem had since been printed in the Roald Dahl Treasury, a 1997 anthology of unpublished works. On Tuesday, the letter and poem went on display at the school to mark the centenary of Dahls birth. Mr Dillon said everyone connected to the school is "extremely proud" of their link to the literary great. Dahls books have long been the bedrock of countless childhoods. More than 200 million copies have been sold worldwide and translated into 59 languages.

Orignial Link :

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-37348417

crawlTime:

9/13/2016 1:37:52 PM