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Brit Poet Laureate unveils Olympic poem

The Associated Press Published Thursday, March 1, 2012 8:36AM EST

The Olympic mascot Wenlock, left, and the Paralympic mascot Mandeville, pose for photographs with children, as they are unveiled to the media as the mascots for London 2012, at a school in London, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. (AP / Matt Dunham)

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LONDON - Britain's Poet Laureate has given a public premiere of her verse celebrating the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Carol Ann Duffy gave the reading of the poem, titled "Eaton Manor," on Thursday at the Eton Manor Rugby Football Club, near the site of the wheelchair tennis and swimming training venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The poem recalls local history, particularly the Eton Manor Boys' Club. That was founded in 1909 by four alumni of Eton College to promote sports for boys in the grimy working-class area of Hackney Wick.

She writes the training at the club "translated poverty to self-esteem, camaraderie, and optimism similed in smiles."

The club, which closed in 1967, produced Olympic double-gold medallist Harry Malin, who won the middleweight boxing class in 1920 and 1924.