Romance will be in the air at Bradford Central Library when it sets up a love-poetry clinic.

Writer Peter Pegnall will be on hand to dispense advice to would-be Romeos in the run-up to Valentine's Day.

He will be giving tips to anyone who wants to put their wooing into words but is stumped for the right romantic rhyme.

Peter has just been appointed as the first of a series of resident poets at the library as part of a project called Poets 4 Seasons.

He will be in the library foyer from noon to 7pm on February 10 and is happy for people to drop by or contact him by phone, letter or e-mail.

"We thought it would be like a consultation service for people who want to say something a little bit more significant than the usual Valentine's Day cliches," said Peter, who recently moved to West Yorkshire after living in Brighton for ten years.

He will have a wide selection of extracts from love poems by writers such as Ted Hughes, Edward Thomas and Simon Armitage to inspire tongue-tied romantics.

Library workers Terry and Joan Goggs were on hand to try out one of Peter's poems.

The writer is also keen for people to let him know their favourite pieces of Valentine poetry to allow them to be shared with others and will be happy to give advice to anyone trying to pen their own love lines.

The library is also hoping to persuade five Bradford celebrities to choose their favourite love poetry to be displayed in the foyer on February 10.

Tom Palmer, co-ordinator of the library's Reader2Reader project, said: "This has never been done anywhere else as far as we know. We think it's a great idea which we hope will capture people's imagination."

Peter said the idea had partly come about after he was poet in residence attached to Lewes Prison, Sussex.

"Some of the young remand prisoners wanted to write something themselves, something original to give their loved ones."

He is hoping the event will show that not all romantic poetry has to be mushy or lovey-dovey. "We could run to people expressing loss or even revenge or jealousy on Valentine's Day," said Peter, who is due to publish his latest collection of poems, Punch Drunk, in July.

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