‘True North’ Newcastle poetry trail
Comissioned by Creative Central Newcastle and Created as a public poetry trail across the city.
The True North poetry trail was comissioned as a poem about Newcastle and the creatives and creativity that is so intrinsic to the city.
Each verse had to stand alone, with one couplet being displayed alone as a vinyl decal on one of the venues within the Creative Central Zone.
The poem appeared as window vinyls across venues in Newcastle, with different sections of the poem installed in different locations. Visitors were able to follow the poem as they moved through the city during the summer and Autum of 2026, discovering fragments of writing as part of their route.
Listen to ‘True North’
Fragments of the poem could be found on venues across the city including:
- Alphabetti Theatre
- Assembly House
- Dance City
- Tyneside Foyer
- Tyne Theatre & Opera House
- Vanguard Gallery
The full poem was also displayed at Central Station and Monument Metro stations.
All of the vinyl decals were designed by the fantastic Sail, who prioritise design for social change. Find Sail using the link below
Photos of Amy all taken by Nostalgia Kid (David Hall), who is a well-known street photographer based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Find David on Insagram using the link below
Read the full Poem
True North
A poem by Amy Langdown
A place curiosity is cultivated into tangible change
Where no idea is ‘too wild’ ‘too much’ or ‘too strange’
A place for passion to shine and to pass on that passion
When opportunity feels scarce, our own we fashion
A place for learning who we are and who we can be
Where possibilities are endless, further than we can see
A place for music to flow through sinew and hope to replete
When tranquility is fleeting, there is nothing so sweet
A place for dancing freely, fiercely even off-beat
To feel melodies in your being from your eyebrows to your feet
A place for becoming versed in the secrets of the earth
To pass down in homage is to continue rebirth
A place to mine for knowledge and innovation to thrive
Putting our humble city into forward drive
A place for smiling at ‘strangers’ for they are our friends
Where nobody is a stranger for our love knows no end
A place truly grounded but with magic handmade
Cultivated carefully as each cornerstone is laid
A place where culture means diversity in colourful bloom
For a plumage of individuality to be excitedly subsumed
A place where the fringe is true North and all else unfolds from there
Where, at our table, everybody has a chair
A place for people to find their true, unending heart-art
And to break down walls, brick by brick, so that others then can start
A place of many timelines, many cities we have been
Industry, culture, creativity bursting from our seams
A place where the artists’ spirit pumps through the streets
Where it is intrinsic, acting as the city’s glue
A place where the people make the heart, the spaces and the streets
Where change can happen when we move others
With our pens, our brushes and our feet
“For me, among the “must visits” [of the 2026 Late Shows] is True North – a poetry trail by the wonderful Amy Langdown that aims to celebrate Newcastle’s creative spirit.
[…] The poem names the city as the place for curiosity, bold ideas and artistic change. Inspired by its venues, communities and history of transformation, the work invites you to explore, look up, and take it all in”
The Crack Magazine
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