Ledbury Poetry Festival, 2 – 11 July 2021
At a Glance
Programme pdf available HERE
For the duration of the Festival:
ledbury.poetrypin.info is an interactive poetry trail in and around the heritage places of Ledbury. It is live for the months of June and July, welcoming poems from authors of all skills to pin their words to locations across the town. Imagine a “Poetry Pokemon” and you get the idea! Unearth hidden poems along the trail, or add your own poetry for others to discover by opening the web page above in the browser of your mobile phone. It is unique to the confines of Ledbury, and you must be in Ledbury to access it. We encourage all in-person visitors to ‘pin’ their own poems to the trail!
Friday 2 July
Sally Crabtree’s Sweetshop of Words and other activities at the Barrett Browning Institute, 11am – 4pm
Festival Launch including a special pre-recorded reading and conversation with Margaret Atwood
5pm – 5.30pm, Zoom, £5
Valzhyna Mort and Victoria Chang, chair Neil Astley
6pm – 7pm, Zoom, £5
Jorie Graham hosted by Sarah Howe
8pm -9pm, Zoom, £5
Saturday 3 July
Insect Safari – presented by Fetch Theatre and Infamous Arts
A fantastical performance that celebrates everything that creeps and crawls
Suitable for ages 5 to 105
Walled Garden, 2pm – 2.45pm, FREE
Sally Crabtree Sweetshop of Words and other activities
Barrett Browning Institute, 11am – 4pm, Free
10am – 12noon, Zoom, £20 per half hour session
Ley Hunt: Walking Writing Workshop, led by Rhys Trimble and Joe Kerr
2pm – TBC, location TBC, £5
12 noon – 1pm, Zoom, Free
Ledbury Poetry Competition winners hosted by Liz Berry
2pm – 3pm, Zoom, Free
Anthony Anaxagorou and Andrew McMillan, hosted by Jennifer Lee Tsai
4pm – 5pm, Zoom, £5
Toward: A Masterclass with Carolyn Forché
5.30pm – 7.30pm, Zoom, £5
Participants must have published a first full-length collection. Please contact director@poetry-festival.co.uk to participate.
Sally Crabtree Poetry Bingo
6pm – 6.45pm, BBI, Free
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Sunday 4 July
John Challis workshop: Appearances and Excavations
10am – 12noon, Zoom, £20
Ledbury Interactive Digital Poetry Pin Trail Ambling Workshops, Free, 11am, 1.30pm and 3pm, meet at the Market House.
Eric Gregory Award Winners event
12noon – 1pm, Zoom, Free
Nikita Gill and Zoë Brigley, hosted by Chloe Garner
2pm – 3pm, Zoom, £5
John Challis and Seán Hewitt, hosted by Andrew McMillan
In partnership with The Poetry Book Society
4pm – 5pm, Zoom, £5
Chen Chen and Luke Kennard, host Neil Astley
6pm -7pm, Zoom, £5
Fred D’Aguiar and André Naffis-Sahely, host Jackie Kay
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Monday 5 July
Workshop with Martina Evans: Notorious
10am – 12 noon, Zoom, £20
William Wootten on Walter de la Mare
6pm – 7pm, in person and live-streamed from the BBI on Zoom, Free
Billy Collins and Martina Evans, host Jonathan Edwards
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Tuesday 6 July
10am – 12noon, Zoom, £20
Kim Addonizio and Phoebe Stuckes, host Judith Palmer
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Wednesday 7 July
Ledbury Poetry Festival Community Programme presents Sharing Showcase hosted by Sara Jane Arbury
10am – 12pm, Zoom, Free
Writing and Poetic Process: Workshop with Kim Addonizio
5pm – 7pm, Zoom, £20
Ledbury Poetry Salon featuring Poets from Zimbabwe and Botswana and an open mic
7.30pm – 9.30pm, Zoom, £5
Please email director@poetry-festival.co.uk to request an open mic slot.
Thursday 8 July
Workshop with Ruth Stacey: A Symbolist Dream
2pm – 4pm, Barrett Browning Institute, £20
Gillian Clarke and Matthew Francis, host Jonathan Edwards
6pm – 7pm, Zoom, £5
Focus on Mexico with Modern Poetry in Translation
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Friday 9 July
Workshop with Rosalind Hudis: Alchemy – how to turn science into lyric.
2pm – 4pm, Barrett Browning Institute, £20
Young Writers Collective in the Walled Garden (outdoors/bad weather inside)
2pm – 3pm
Angela France and Penelope Shuttle
6pm – 7pm, Barrett Browning Institute and live streamed on Zoom, Free
Nick Flynn and Eileen Myles (they/them), hosted by Neil Astley and Pamela Robertson-Pearce
8pm – 9pm, Zoom, £5
Saturday 10 July
Spellwright, near the Market House, 10am – 4pm
Poetry Machine, near the Market House, 10am – 4pm
Workshop with Zoe Brigley and Kristian Evans: The Peace of Wild Things? Writing about Creatures
10am – 12 noon, Barrett Browning Institute, £20
Rosalind Hudis and Isabel Galleymore
11am – 12 noon, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
100 Poems to Save the Earth, with editors Zoe Brigley and Kristian Evans
1pm – 2pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
3pm – 4pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), Free but ticketed
5pm – 6pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
6.30pm – 7.30pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
8pm – 10pm (including an interval), Zoom, £5
To enter the Slam as a competitor, please contact Sara-Jane on 07814 830031 or email sjarbury@gmail.com
Poetry Party with Herefordshire Stanza
8pm – 9pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard, FREE
Sunday 11 July
11am – 12noon (with a 20 minute interval for walks and peeing on lampposts), Market House, £5
Workshop with Jamie Thrasivoulou: Exiting the safe space and moving away from the I
12.30pm – 2.30pm, Barrett Browning Institute, £20
Julia Copus and Robert Selby, reading and in conversation with Jonathan Davidson
1pm – 2pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
Bohdan Piasecki and Rhian Edwards
3pm – 4pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
3pm – 5pm, Barrett Browning Institute, £20 for a half hour session
Ruth Stacey and Jamie Thrasivoulou, reading and in conversation with Jonathan Davidson
5pm- 6pm, St Michael’s and All Angels Church Courtyard (outdoors/bad weather inside), £5
Juliet Stevenson present Stevie Smith, a film made by Dead Poets Live, followed by a live Q&A, hosted by James Lever
7pm – 9pm, Zoom, Free (please donate generously to support Ledbury Poetry Festival)