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An exhilarating weekend of words

According to Mandy Coe: “The three days of the festival are but the visible part of this event. The team’s accumulated years of experience shine, not just through their professionalism and excellent planning but in enabling something much more rare to happen: everyone - performers, audience, children and seniors alike - are valued and equal participants… creators! All my writing life I have heard the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival spoken of with awe; now I know why.”

Here’s a chance to explore or re-visit some of the pleasures of the weekend.

The Guardian Books blog announces Christian Campbell as the winner of the 2010 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize for Running the Dusk (Peepal Tree), with judge Jo Shapcott praising his “bravura performance”. Whilst last year’s winner JO Morgan read in the Jubilee Hall (and copies of his Natural Mechanical sold out immediately) alongside Matthew Caley and Don Paterson in an exceptional three-handed reading that sets the standard for the weekend.

Acclaimed travel-writer Hugh Thomson, blogs the Festival weekend with thoughts on everything - from Stanley Kunitz’s principle that “poetry should exploit the lyric tension of the fact that we are both living and dying at the same time” to which Aldeburgh poet boasts the best hair. And catch some ‘fringe’ blogs from young artist Rosie Kirton and poetry publisher Charles Christian at Ink, Sweat & Tears

Following his talk on The Poetry Archive, Andrew Motion buys our Poetry Channel producer Nick Patrick a pint and shares his thoughts on “not wanting to live in a country of dark theatres & closed libraries with no literature festivals.” Eavesdrop on their open and engaging conversation live from The Mill Inn, Aldeburgh, now on The Poetry Channel.

Swedish writer and Nobel Prize nominee Lars Gustafsson describes Aldeburgh as “one of the finest quality festivals of Europe” before making a swift exit from his conversation with Bernard Kops about ‘The Subversive Poet’ - following ‘lively exchanges’ - and heads straight to London to discuss this hot Festival topic on Radio 4’s Start the Week. Listen again

Finally, enjoy the Festival photo gallery and listen to our Aldeburgh Takeaway podcast in which Imtiaz Dharker, Inua Ellams, Mandy Coe and others share their thoughts on what they’ll ‘take away’ from their first Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.