What Shelley means to me

Sara Loewenthal

Sara Loewenthal, reader at the Shelleython and Shelley Memorial Project supporter, explains why Shelley is important to her, and why she feels he should have a permanent monument in Horsham.

As a teenager I loved Shelley and Keats, as the romantic in me loved the odes to nature and love.

As I got older and became more politically aware and more involved in my West Indian heritage I sought out more radical ideas and tended to read or listen to African-American and Caribbean literature. It was a documentary in the 80s about the Jamaican dub poet, Mikey Smith where he discussed English literature with CLR James and Linton Kwesi Johnson which had me seeking out Shelley again.

In the film, Smith is seen reciting “Men of England’ and that had a profound effect on me; after which I went on to read The Mask of Anarchy.

What Shelley means to me is radicalism, justice, freedom and revolution. That he was an abolitionist goes without saying. The words are powerful and the messages strong. Having moved to Horsham 15 years ago, I feel privileged to live in “his town” and I fully support the Shelley Memorial Project.

In the current political climate where society is wresting with who might be deserving of a monument then Shelley must, surely, be worthy of that honour.