AMERICAN poet Ezra Pound was beaten to death by a ten-year-old Lethbridge pupil after turning into a zombie near Swindon’s Magic Roundabout, as seen through popular online construction game Minecraft.

The iconic junction was recreated in Minecraft as part of a new 'Poetry Swindon World'.

The hapless Ezra was the last of a group of poets in version one with bards such as William Shakespeare and Keats, having been killed off by creepers and other malevolent night creatures.

Sadly, survivor Ezra - as a new member of the undead - had to be put down by diamond sword-wielding Charlie Day, who at other times attends Lethbridge Primary School.

Version two was created by 16-year-olds Finley Sheehan and Josh Keirl who both attend New College, Rio Bell who attends King William CE Primary School, and Charlie Day alongside Poetry Swindon director and Minecraft fan Hilda Sheehan.

The world can be accessed by Minecraft enthusiasts at the Museum of Computing on Sunday, October 4, 2pm to 6pm, as part of this year’s Poetry Swindon Festival.

Players can explore and meet Romeo and Juliet, poets Emily Dickinson, Don Share (the Chicago-based chief editor of the international magazine, Poetry), Swindon’s own Victorian nature writer Richard Jefferies, and a resurrected non-zombie Ezra Pound.

The magic roundabout forms the centre of the Minecraft ‘realm’ with roads leading off to places such as the Emily Dickinson Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and poet Wallace Stevens’ ice cream parlour.

Participants can look for ten poets and their poems; those who find all win a prize.

There is also an opportunity to write poems and put them into Poetry Swindon World to be read by the Minecraft villagers and poets.

Hilda Sheehan said: "We wanted to use technology to engage young people and poetry. In the future we want to develop the world further and enable Minecraft players to access it online. It could be a great educational resource for schools.”

Museum of Computing curator Simon Webb said: “We are really excited to be hosting this, the first event between Poetry Swindon and the Museum of Computing.

"The combination of Minecraft and poetry is an intriguing mix.”

Paul Collins, education coordinator at the museum, said: "Minecraft captures the imagination of people of all ages and it’s a great way for parents to connect with their children while being creative.

"The appeal can be in the exploration of an infinite procedurally generated world, survival against skeletons and creepers, or the mining and building to make anything your imagination can conjure up.

"It’s great to see two very different creative mediums coming together to explore new ideas. Maybe this is the start of something new for the 21st century, virtual world poetry!”

Poetry Swindon Festival starts on Thursday, October 1, and is supported by Arts Council England and Swindon Artswords.

For information and tickets, visit www.poetryswindon.org

  • The real Ezra Pound lived in London 1908-1920 and supported the careers of writers such as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, DH Lawrence and TS Eliot.