'Rings' written by the previous Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, celebrates the 'unbreakable relationship between love and poetry'.
Carol Ann invited 20 colleagues (including Jackie Kay, Roger McGough, Wendy Cope, Andrew Motion, Gillian Clarke and Ian Duhig) to write on the theme of 'Vows' on the occasion of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. These were published by the Guardian on 23 April 2011 - see link below.
A watercolur artwork by Stephen Raw, reproduced here, has been made into a print with the full poem set in type on the right. There have only been 500 copies printed which are signed by the poet and artist. (Number one was given as a wedding gift to the happy couple.)
The prints, signed by Carol Ann Duffy and the artist, are 483 x 329mm and are despatched by Royal Mail special delivery.
To order a copy send an email (info
stephenraw.com) with your name and address. Name your email "RINGS". There are three ways of paying: PayPal, Cheque or bank transfer. Stephen will reply with a PayPal invoice or the address to send your cheque to when you have indicated in the email which is your preferred way of paying.
The price is £100 and £8.50 for the special delivery, p&p: total £108.50. (Overseas purchases will be subject to an additional postage fee dependent on where they live.)
The prints are despatched not in a tube, but flat packed to make them easier to frame if necessary.
There are still prints available; so far many people have found them to make an ideal wedding / engagement / civil partnership present with some reading Carol Ann's wonderful words during various ceremonies.
The original watercolour is now in The Royal Collection, housed in Windsor Castle. It was shown in the exhibition 'Poetry for the Palace' (see elsewhere on this website) held in the Queen's Gallery, Holyroodhouse Palace, Edinburgh in 2014.
A detail of the watercolour lettering:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/23/wedding-carol-ann-duffy-poet...