World Cup poetry: Lines for the beautiful game

Lifelong Arsenal supporter Mark Wilberforce is rooting for Ghana and England at this summer’s FIFA World Cup, which is jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

He’s fascinated by the language we use to describe the beautiful game – so In the Studio has commissioned poet Ian McMillan to write a poem about the tournament. We hear how Ian finds inspiration for the lines on the page from the lines on the pitch – and about some of the strategies he uses when words run dry.

Describing the joy - and heartache - of football is the job of commentators like Joyce Annor Yeboah – aka Afia Empress – who commentates in both English and Twi for the Ghanaian Angel Broadcasting Network. And we also hear from California’s poet laureate Lee Herrick whose loyalty is divided between the USA and his birth country, South Korea.