Each month, TATE ETC. publishes new poetry by leading poets who respond to works from the Tate Collection. This November Henry Shukman presents his poem, based on The Roundabout (1923) by Stanley Spencer, currently on display at Tate (Room 13: The Art of Leisure). Enjoy it online now at http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue14/article16920.htm  where you can listen to Shukman reading his poem.

Henry Shukman is an English writer currently living in New Mexico. His work includes fiction, poetry and travel writing and he has won an impressive array of literary awards throughout his successful career.

His poem The Roundabout is inspired by Stanley Spencer's painting of the same name. Sir Stanley Spencer is considered one of the most extraordinary British artists of the twentieth century, much admired for his intimate portraits of loved ones and powerful depictions of Biblical scenes in new and intriguing contexts.

Spencer's 1923 painting The Roundabout was inspired by the view from Henry Lamb's studio which overlooked Hampstead fairground. The roundabout with chairs that Spencer chose to paint was a recent invention, only being introduced to fairgrounds in 1922.

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