Welcome to Stuff. The Poetry Trust's latest news, events, podcasts and publications.

The 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival – programme now available

5-7 November 2010

Come and relish the power of live poetry at the 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, featuring 23 world-class writers across 44 events. An original and absorbing programme is guaranteed with poets from America, Ireland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sweden and all over the UK converging on the inspirational east Suffolk coast.

Former UK poet laureate Andrew Motion shares the poems he can’t live without, Forward Prize winner Don Paterson offers a new interpretation of Robert Frost, and Elaine Feinstein confides in her relationship with The Beats. With plenty of international perspectives from New Zealand’s inaugural poet laureate Bill Manhire, Sweden’s critically-acclaimed Lars Gustafsson and two scintillating Americans, Marie Howe and Dorianne Laux. And award-winning travel writer and contemporary poetry enthusiast Hugh Thomson will blog the Festival weekend.

Click for full programme, including readings, workshops, craft talks, discussions, performances, Masterclass, exhibition and lots more.

If you’d like a hard copy of the Festival programme, please contact Katie at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 01986 835950.

Booking for Friends of The Poetry Trust opens on 17 August (if you join as a Friend now for just £15 a year you will be able to take advantage of priority booking) Click to join

Public booking opens 25 August.

With thanks to all the Festival funders and supporters

 

New on The Poetry Channel – Poem Show summer special

We’re having our own Fringe Festival on The Poetry Channel this August with a new Poem Show celebrating three of the UK’s most entertaining poets. Enjoy the late, great Adrian Mitchell with ‘A Puppy Called Puberty’ - which was premiered at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2005 on R4’s Kaleidoscope (back in those pre-Front Row days) and ended up on BBC Pick-of-the-Year. Matt Harvey celebrates the joys of office pilfering in his hilarious poem ‘Works Perks’ and Helena Nelson finds more words to rhyme with banana than you would think possible in a poem originally recorded at her triumphant Poetry Prom in 2007. Click to listen.

The Poetry Channel now attracts over 1,500 downloads a month: have a listen to this and 30 other shows - including craft talks, discussions and behind the scenes documentaries at: www.thepoetrytrust.org/poetry-channel

...and if you’re up in Edinburgh for the real Fringe Festival be sure to catch The Poetry Trust’s ever-creative Dean Parkin with his new one-man show Dean’s Dad’s Ducks at the Zoo Southside (Cabaret Bar)

 

Record 95 entries for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize

Judges Michael Laskey (Chair), Jo Shapcott and Neil Rollinson have a tough job on their hands given the record 95 submissions to the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. The exciting shortlist will be announced on National Poetry Day 7 October 2010 and the winner will be revealed at the Festival in November. Catch last year’s winner J O Morgan reading alongside Don Paterson and Matthew Caley at the opening Friday evening reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010.

 

Short Cuts, The Cut, Halesworth, Friday 17 September 7.30pm

The theme of Short Cuts - our cult status variety show - this September is ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ as we welcome special guest Jude Simpson. Witty, charming and a brilliant stand-up poet, she promises a recession-busting guide to happiness. As always the show will offer a heady mix of comedy, music, spoken word and live poetry along with the usual unabashed Open Mic talent. Will everything be all right on the night? Join us in September to find out. Matchless entertainment guaranteed whatever!

To apply for a performance slot (3 minutes), contact Dean on 01986 835950 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tickets cost £5, Call The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123

Supported by The Co-op Community Fund

 

Advertise in The Poetry Paper

There are still a few advertising spaces available in The Poetry Paper - our annual triumph of style & content - launched at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and distributed widely to arts & cultural audiences throughout 2010/11. This year the paper will feature an exclusive interview with Seamus Heaney and new poems, interviews and articles from many of the Festival poets. To reserve one of the remaining spaces, contact Alice Kent at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Further details

 

Making Sense of Our Lives: Martin Hayden & David Healey

Two Suffolk-based poets launch their new pamphlets
The Cut, Halesworth, Tuesday 21 September, 7.30pm

Martin Hayden A humane, observant and refreshingly outward-looking poet, reads from Meeting the Pilgrimage Halfway - celebratory autobiographical poems from his Dorset childhood.

David Healey Honesty and wit from the former chairman of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, reading from Slowing the Afternoon Down, a collection of heartfelt and heartening poems charting his recovery from the loss of his first wife.

Tickets £6 (includes a complimentary drink)
The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123

Garlic Press in association with The Poetry Trust

 

Seamus Heaney, 8th Poetry Prom – new podcast coming soon

The 8th Poetry Prom - a partnership between The Poetry Trust & Aldeburgh Music - featuring Seamus Heaney has been completely sold out for weeks (nearly 800 tickets). However for all those unable to get a seat or get to Suffolk, we’ll be recording the evening and producing a podcast for The Poetry Channel. To receive the podcast as soon as it’s available, subscribe to The Poetry Channel on iTunes.

 

Become a ‘Friend’ of The Poetry Trust & secure priority booking for Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

Popular events at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival do sell out so to make sure you get the tickets you want, you need to be a Friend of The Poetry Trust. For just £15, as well as enjoying a two-week priority booking period, you’ll also be helping us deliver our year-round programme of live events, prizes, publications, creative education opportunities and more. Distribution of the Festival programme has started and Friends priority booking opens on 17 August 2010. Friends’ subscriptions make a real difference so why not join.
Full details

 

Other STUFF you might like…

Last Chance to Enter Arvon’s Poetry Competition closing date 16 August

The Woodstock Bookshop & Tower Poetry present - Jo Shapcott & Daljit Nagra, 25 August, 8pm, Woodstock, Oxon, £4 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Poetry Book Society - Autumn Pamphlet submission deadline 1 September

The Academy of American Poets presents The 2010 Poets Forum October 28 - 30, New York

Iota Shots & Templar Poetry - three new poetry prizes, closing date 14 November http://www.iotamagazine.co.uk and

Café Writers open poetry competition 2010, closing date 30 November

 

Wimbledon Championships Poet 2010

Matt Harvey ends the UK’s trophy drought by triumphing as the first Wimbledon Championships Poet 2010 - ok technically he didn’t get a trophy, or even a rosette, not even any M&S vouchers, but he did get people talking about poetry!

Commenting in The New York Times on the decision by The Poetry Trust & the AELTC to team up, Martinia Navratilolva said “Its quirky and British and very Wimbledon”.

Here’s some highlights from Matt’s fortnight at SW19:

• Receiving over 100 hakui from poetry & tennis fans in response to his call to mark the longest tennis match in recorded history in the shortest poetic form
• Winning over an initially sceptical John Humpheys on the Today programme with his crowd-pleasing poem ‘thwok’ declared as ‘brilliant’ by an impressed Humphreys
• Inflicting poetry in a ‘well-meaning sort of way’ on fans in the Champagne bar & reflecting on the great British sport of queuing in two specially produced podcasts from Wimbledon for The Poetry Channel
• Getting 60 children from local primary schools to join in on Centre Court with an interactive poetry reading. The children also wrote their own poems, which included an inspired ‘A plate is for the winner, not for dinner’
• Reading poems to the ball boys and girls for a BBC short film
• Being christened the ‘Baseline Bard’ in a film for CNN
• Talking to sports writer Jamie Jackson in The Guardian
• Popping back to the Today studios to mark Andy Murray’s semi-final

All of this whilst also producing a poem-a-day (and sometimes two). All of Matt’s poems can be enjoyed (audio & text) at: www.thepoetrytrust.org/wimbledon

If you’ve enjoyed Matt’s poems get your hands on a copy of his first (and only collection) The Hole In The Sum of My Parts, published by and available from The Poetry Trust

Photo credit: Neil Tingle/AELTC

 

Aldeburgh First Collection Prize – deadline fast approaching

Submissions for the prestigious Aldeburgh First Collection Prize must arrive by 31 July 2010. Last year saw a record 92 entries for this, one of the most important and long-established poetry prizes in the UK. Judges Jo Shapcott, Neil Rollinson and Michael Laskey (Chair) will select the winner, who’ll receive £3,000, plus a week’s ‘protected’ writing time and a free-paying invitation to read at the 2011 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. Since 1989 the prize has helped launch the careers of poets such as Robin Robertson, Nick Laird and Colette Bryce. Click for submission details

 

Suffolk Young Poets Competition – send us your poems!

The Suffolk Young Poets Competition is open to all young people (4 - 18 yrs) living in or attending school in Suffolk. We welcome entries from individuals as well as from schools. Poems can be about anything and judges will be looking for those that show individuality and linguistic daring and are on topics that really matter to the writer. Prizes include book tokens and the chance to read at the 2010 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival with top children’s poet Mandy Coe. Parents, guardians, uncles & aunts with budding writers in the family - now is their chance to shine, so send in those poems. And teachers there’s also a prize for the school with the strongest overall entry. Closing date 31 July 2010. Full details

 

Advertise in The Poetry Paper

The Poetry Paper - an annual triumph of style & content - is currently in the pre-production pipeline as we commission new articles and interviews and dream up some quirky diversions. The 2010 paper will feature an exclusive interview with Seamus Heaney as well as contributions from all 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival poets. To advertise in this gem of a read, which enjoys well-targeted national distribution, contact Alice Kent at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Further details

 

Dean’s Dad’s Ducks

Jerwood Dance House, Ipswich, Friday 23 July 2010, dinner from 7.30pm

Following a triumphant performance at The Cut, Dean Parkin previews his Edinburgh show - Dean’s Dad’s Ducks - at the Jerwood Dancehouse café at the invitation of Dance East. Join Dean on a journey with 30,000 plastic ducks and plenty of poems, songs and some groovy moves along the way. The show’s been given a five duck-rating by Costa Book award-winning poet Christopher Reid.

£15 - Dinner, a drink & entry to the show
£8 - Drink & entry to the show
Box office: 01473 295230
Website: www.danceeast.co.uk

...you can also catch the show at:
Luton Fringe Festival, Monday 26 July & Tuesday 27 July, 8pm
Fringe Theatre & Dance Stage
Tickets: £3 or £2 (with Fringe Pass £6)
Box office: 01582 878100

 

Seamus Heaney, 8th Poetry Prom – Sold Out

The 26th of August is set to be an unforgettable night as Seamus Heaney comes to Snape Maltings for the 8th Poetry Prom - a partnership between The Poetry Trust & Aldeburgh Music. With just under 800 tickets sold this will be one of the largest celebrations of contemporary poetry in the UK’s literary calendar. For all those who’ve not been able to get a ticket, we’ll be recording the evening and producing a podcast for The Poetry Channel to enjoy later in the year. With The Poetry Channel now attracting an average of 1,500 downloads a month, this is the place for in-depth poetry discussions, readings and short documentaries from The Poetry Trust all year-round. www.thepoetrytrust.org/poetry-channel

 

Become a ‘Friend’ of The Poetry Trust & secure priority booking for Aldeburgh Poetry Festival

We’ve just put the finishing touches to the programme for the 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 5 - 7 November 2010. As always this ultimate poetry weekend will feature internationally renowned poets, exceptional newcomers and some well-kept secrets from the UK and abroad. Popular events do sell out so to make sure you get the tickets you want, you need to be a Friend of The Poetry Trust. For just £15, as well as enjoying a two-week priority booking period you’ll also be helping us deliver our year-round programme of live-events, prizes, publications, creative education opportunities and more. Friends subscriptions make a real difference! The Festival programme will be distributed in late July and Friends priority booking opens 17 August 2010. For details about becoming a Friend see: www.thepoetrytrust.org/friends_scheme/

 

Wimbledon & The Poetry Trust announce first Championships Poet

The Poetry Trust has teamed up with Wimbledon this summer to appoint the first Championships Poet 2010. Throughout Wimbledon fortnight (21 June - 4 July) Matt Harvey will create a poem-a-day on all things Wimbledon, tour the airwaves and deliver impromptu live-performances to the famous Wimbledon queue.

The announcement was made on a sunny Centre Court and generated enormous interest with media coverage as far and as wide as Berlin, Delhi and Los Angeles. For some coverage closer to home enjoy:

The Guardian
BBC News
The Telegraph
The Times

We’re sure Matt’s whimsical, perceptive, funny behind-the-scenes poems will delight tennis & poetry fans alike and introduce thousands more to the joys of volleying with words… (sorry, tennis puns inevitable!)

Follow Matt at Wimbledon:

A poem-a-day: Check out The Poetry Trust & Wimbledon websites for text and audio poems every day of the tournament.

The Poetry Channel: Enjoy our first podcast now as Matt explores Wimbledon, and reads his ‘Grandest of Slams’ poem. More podcasts will follow from Wimbledon - find out how Matt gets on with the crowds and whether he makes it on to Sue Barker’s sofa.

Twitter: Follow Matt’s ‘Wimblewords’ (and send your own suggestions) at Twitter, the official Wimbledon blog will have the link for the start of the championships.

Facebook: We’ll post all of Matt’s new poems and invite you to share yours.

Lastly, if you enjoy Matt’s poems, then you shouldn’t be without your very own copy of his first (and only) collection The Hole in the Sum of My Parts, published by and available from The Poetry Trust - and soon to be a collector’s item!

 

Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2010 – open for entries

The prestigious Aldeburgh First Collection Prize is now open for entries. Established in 1989, this is one of the most important and long-established poetry prizes in the UK, and the only one to offer a cash prize as well as significant professional development. The winner receives £3,000, plus a week’s ‘protected’ writing time and a fee-paying invitation to read at the 2011 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival - a unique opportunity to reach Britain’s largest and most appreciative poetry audience. Over the years the prize has helped launch the careers of poets such as Robin Robertson, Nick Laird and Colette Bryce. The closing date for entries is 31 July 2010. Full competition details.

 

New on The Poetry Channel – the inside story of Afrikaans with pioneering poet Antjie Krog

In a deeply rewarding and informative new podcast, prominent South African poet Antjie Krog condenses 100 years of South African history and the poetic tradition of Afrikaans into an extraordinary 15-minute snapshot. Using illustrative poems (her own and others) she explores the origins of Afrikaans, from its adoption as the language of slaves through to its use as the ‘language of violence and separation’ under apartheid, to its reclamation by those who were oppressed. She ends with a powerful reading of the poem read by Nelson Mandela at his inauguration, ‘The Child Who Was Shot Dead By Soldiers At Nyangal’.

The podcast is an edited version of a talk given by Antjie Krog at the 2008 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. For non-football fans it will offer 15 minutes (we’re sorry it’s not 90!) of welcome relief over the next month. And for those already happily focused on South Africa, it provides the perfect historical and linguistic context and illustrates just why this World Cup is so special.

Click to listen

 

Poetry @ The Pumphouse, Aldeburgh

Join us at the atmospheric Pumphouse this June, where the ale flows freely and we’ll be presenting some exceptional young ‘page’ and ‘stage’ poetic talents during the Aldeburgh (music) Festival.

Faber New Poets Friday 18 June at 6pm, £5
Joe Dunthorne, Annie Katchinska, Sam Riviere, Tom Warner

A showcase reading by the four young writers selected, following a nationwide search, for this year’s prestigious and highly competitive Faber New Poets Programme. A quartet of unmissable and distinctive new voices. Supported by Faber

Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You
Friday 25 June at 6.30pm, £5
Written and performed by Molly Naylor

An Edinburgh preview of Molly Naylor’s new one-woman show mixing poetry, comedy and storytelling. Molly moves to London, falls in love, her pockets are empty but her heart is full. Then she finds herself on one of the trains blown up on 7/7. In seconds, her life and London are thrown into the chaos of fallibility…
Supported by Escalator East to Edinburgh

Booking (for both events)
Tel: 01728 687110
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
www.aldeburgh.co.uk

Annie Katchinska - credit Oleg Katchinska

 

Jackie Kay at the Ip-art Festival July 2010

Naomi Jaffa, director of The Poetry Trust, will chair an evening with the ever-wonderful Jackie Kay on Saturday 10 July during the Ipswich Arts Festival. Born to a Scottish mother and Nigerian father, Jackie Kay grew up in Glasgow, having been adopted by a white couple, inspiring her outstanding first collection The Adoption Papers (1991).

She excels at any literary genre she turns her hand to - poetry, fiction, drama and now memoir - and she’ll be reading from her new Red Dust Road which explores the quest for her birth parents and is “a fantastic, probing and heart-warming read” (Bernadine Evaristo in The Independent). Jackie will talk about her life in writing with Naomi and take questions from the audience.

Click for more information and tickets (£7/£5 concessions)

 

Suffolk Young Poets Competition – call for entries

Together with media sponsor the East Anglian Daily Times, The Poetry Trust has launched its 22nd Suffolk Young Poets Competition. This is one of the largest regional competitions championing young writing talent: over 20,000 four to eighteen years olds have taken part since it began in 1989. The Poetry Trust invites young people (living or at school in Suffolk) to send us their best poems by 31 July 2010. Poems can be on any theme and the judges will be looking for poems with individuality and linguistic fizz on topics that really matter to the young writers. Winning poets will be invited to read their poems alongside the wonderful Mandy Coe at the Family Reading at the 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010. The deadline for entries is 31 July 2010.

Special note to teachers: remember we have recently published The Poetry Toolkit full of activities for teaching poetry in the classroom. Download a pdf or order your free printed copy by contacting The Poetry Trust and send us your class’s best poems.

 

DEAN’S DAD’S DUCKS

The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, Thursday 1 July at 8pm (free)

The Poetry Trust’s very own Dean Parkin takes to the stage in July for a free Edinburgh-preview of his new one-man, one hour show supported by Escalator East to Edinburgh.

30,000 plastic ducks sank in the North Pacific in 1992 after their cargo ship was bombed by a US fighter jet. This is the tale of their voyage, the double life of the man who made them and thirty years of secrets and lies.

Stories, poems and songs about bubblewrap, swan machines and lemon trees on trains. Funny, bittersweet journeys with a dodgy Dad and his flotilla of plucky ducks.

Delightful, funny and poignant - just round the corner from left-field
Matt Harvey, Radio 4, Saturday Live

An exuberantly eccentric imagination
Christopher Reid, Costa Book Award Winner

www.deanparkin.co.uk

 

‘An Evening with Seamus Heaney’ – tickets selling fast

The Poetry Prom, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Thursday 26 August, 7.30pm

As expected there has been a phenomenal response to the chance to spend an evening in the extraordinarily good company of Seamus Heaney - described by The Guardian as ‘the greatest poet of our age’. Over 500 tickets for The Poetry Trust’s annual Poetry Prom sold within the first week of the box office opening and there are now fewer than 200 tickets available. So don’t delay if you want to secure a seat.

Our annual Poetry Prom, presented in partnership with Aldeburgh Music, is one of the UK’s largest celebrations of live poetry. The first half will feature Heaney ‘in conversation’ with Michael Laskey, founder of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and fellow poet. The Nobel Laureate will be invited to reflect on a writing career of global significance spanning over forty years. And after the interval, Heaney will introduce and read a wide selection of his work including poems from his new Faber collection Human Chain (published early September but advance copies to be available on the night).

This event will be a complete sell-out so do book your tickets today if you want to be sure to enjoy one of those genuinely rare and memorable ‘I was there’ occasions.
Sponsored by Fairweather Stephenson & Co

Booking
Tickets £16, £13, £10, Prom £6
Tel: 01728 687110
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

And finally….

Many congratulations to poet Peter Daniels, a participant on our 2010 Advanced Seminar back in March, who has won first prize in the Times Literary Supplement annual poetry competition. Read the winning poem and enjoy more of Peter’s poetry at: www.peterdaniels.org.uk 

 

Other STUFF you might like:

Ruth O’Callaghan presents - Three major women poets - Elaine Feinstein, Mimi Khalvati and Fiona Sampson Tuesday 13 July 2010, 6.30pm, 88 Tavistock Place, WCI, London, £5/4 Tickets on the door - all the proceeds go the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

The John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition Open to 11 - 14 years olds living in the British Isles. Deadline 31 July 2010

The 2010 Arvon International Poetry Competition Enter your poems by 16 August for a chance to win the first prize of £7,500

Readings and Awards Ceremony for the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets British Library, Wednesday 16th June, 6.30pm, £6/4

 

The Poetry Trust presents ‘An Evening with Seamus Heaney’

The Poetry Prom, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, 26 August, 7.30pm

We’re delighted and enormously privileged to announce that Seamus Heaney - described by The Guardian as the ‘greatest poet of our age’ - will appear at the 8th Poetry Prom this summer.

Our annual Poetry Prom, presented in partnership with Aldeburgh Music, is one of the UK’s largest celebrations of live poetry, attracting audiences of nearly 800.

The first half will feature Heaney ‘in conversation’ with Michael Laskey, founder of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and fellow poet. The Nobel Laureate will be invited to reflect on a writing career of global significance spanning over forty years. And after the interval, Heaney will introduce and read a wide selection of his work including poems from his new Faber collection Human Chain (published early September but advance copies to be available on the night).

General booking opens 4 June and we strongly recommend getting your tickets early for what’s likely to be a sell-out evening and one of those ‘I was there’ memorable occasions.

Sponsored by Fairweather Stephenson & Co

Booking
Tickets £16, £13, £10, Prom £6
Tel: 01728 687110, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

Poetry @ The Pumphouse, Aldeburgh

...and you don’t need to wait until August for the next dose of outstanding live poetry in Suffolk (and another great Poetry Trust / Aldeburgh Music partnership). Join us at the atmospheric Pumphouse this June, where the ale flows freely and we’ll be presenting some exceptional young ‘page’ and ‘stage’ poetic talents during the Aldeburgh (music) Festival.

Faber New Poets Friday 18 June at 6pm, £5
Joe Dunthorne, Annie Katchinska, Sam Riviere, Tom Warner

A showcase reading by the four young writers selected, following a nationwide search, for this year’s prestigious and highly competitive Faber New Poets Programme. A quartet of unmissable and distinctive new voices. Supported by Faber

Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You  Friday 25 June at 6.30pm, £5
Written and performed by Molly Naylor

An Edinburgh preview of Molly Naylor’s new one-woman show mixing poetry, comedy and storytelling. Molly moves to London, falls in love, her pockets are empty but her heart is full. Then she finds herself on one of the trains blown up on 7/7. In seconds, her life and London are thrown into the chaos of fallibility…
Supported by Escalator East to Edinburgh

Booking (for both events)
Tel: 01728 687110, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

Short Cuts Cabaret & Open Mic Night

Friday 21 May 2010, The Cut, Halesworth, 7.30pm

Dean Parkin hosts another instalment of Suffolk’s cult-status cabaret night, welcoming star guest Tim Turnbull, Aldeburgh Poetry Festival’s writer-in-residence in 2006 and described as a ‘future poet laureate’ by The Guardian. Turnbull’s anarchic and funny poetry combined with his dynamic stage presence should guarantee a lively night out. Stand-up poets Andrea Porter and Yanny Mac will also be making special appearances. And of course the evening will also feature plenty of (good, bad but never indifferent) Open Mic talent. Boogie-woogie (but classically-trained) maestro Maurice Horhut will be at the piano to provide accompaniment to anyone in need. Food and drink is available at The Cut, contemporary arts venue, café & bar.
To apply for a performance slot (strictly 3 minutes), contact Dean on 01986 835950 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tickets £5, Call The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123
Support by The Co-op Community Fund

 

Suffolk Young Poets Competition 2010

The Suffolk Young Poets Competition is one of the largest regional competitions championing young writing talent: over 20,000 four to eighteen year olds have taken part since it began in 1989. We’ll soon be launching the 2010 competition and inviting young people to submit their poems by 31 July 2010. If you’re a Suffolk based teacher (or know someone who is) and you’d like an information pack - including a free ‘Poetry Toolkit’ for teaching poetry in the classroom - then do get in touch. Or perhaps you’re a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt with some younger generation budding poets in your family…? Poems can be entered by individuals as well as by schools - so do get in touch and help us get more entries than ever this year. Email Katie: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 01986 835950.

 

Festivals Suffolk launched

A new campaign has been launched promoting Suffolk as the Festival capital of the UK. We’re delighted that the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival has been selected as one of the nine showcase Festivals, alongside events such as: Pulse, HighTide and Latitude. The campaign launched at The Cut Arts Centre and included a dazzling performance by our very own Dean Parkin, giving a sneak preview of his Edinburgh show. More information

 

An Evening with Andrew Motion and Les Murray

Norwich Playhouse, Tuesday 18 May, 7.30pm - 9pm

The Poetry Trust whole-heartedly recommends spending an evening in the illustrious company of two poets from opposite ends of the globe - Australian Les Murray and former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion.

This event is presented by the exceptional poetry magazine The Rialto (celebrating 25 years of publication) in partnership with Writers’ Centre Norwich as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

Enjoy readings, conversation and questions from the audience with two of the most important English-language poets of our time.

Les Murray - Australia’s premier poet and a writer of global stature, winner of the T S Eliot Prize, a Queens Gold Medal for Poetry (on the recommendation of Ted Hughes) and tipped by The Guardian for a Nobel Prize. With his genius for inclusion, Murray’s poems are characterised by a combative wit, an inexhaustible curiosity and great generosity of spirit.

Andrew Motion - As Poet Laureate 1999-2009, Andrew Motion transformed the role and galvanised interest in contemporary poetry from press and public alike. Described as a ‘beautiful lyrist’ by Robert Potts in The Guardian and ‘a voice unlike any other’ by Lavinia Greenlaw in The New Statesman, his lucid poems address personal and collective issues with fluency, warmth and integrity.

Tickets £10, U25s: £5
Book online or call the box office: 01603 766400

 

New date for Simon Armitage at UEA

Wednesday 9 June 2010, 7pm, Lecture Theatre 1

The extraordinarily prolific, popular and versatile writer Simon Armitage will be headlining an unmissable evening at the University of East Anglia, Norwich on Wednesday 9 June. Armitage - the best-known poet of his 1960’s-born generation - will read from his new Faber collection Seeing Stars and appear ‘in conversation’ with Lavinia Greenlaw, with time for questions from the audience. Armitage is a brilliant deliverer of his work (he held the capacity audience of 800 at our 2005 Poetry Prom absolutely spellbound) and as Kate Kelleway concluded her recent review in The Observer: “His ability to write with such rigorous playfulness is marvellous.”

This reading was originally programmed for 19 May but the date has had to be changed. All season tickets, poetry passports and individual tickets will be valid for the new date. There are still a few tickets available

Box office: 01603 508050 www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk/events/

 

Other STUFF you might like…

Bridport Prize Poems Short stories. Flash fiction. Poetry prize (£5,000) judge Michael Laskey. Deadline 30 June.

Go Dutch at The Free Word Centre Awater by Martinus Nijhoff. A new translation of the most important Dutch poem of the 20th century. Poet Christopher Reid will introduce the evening. 27 May, 7pm, London

Birmingham Book Festival Spring Thing A Festival in Day Includes Carol Ann Duffy and Helen Dunmore. 29 May, 10.30am (all day), Birmingham

The Literary Consultancy The Waste Land by T S Eliot read by Roger Lloyd Pack, 3 June, 6.30pm, Clerkenwell, London

Suffolk Poetry Society, Schubertiad, An evening of Poetry with Music, 5 June, 7.30pm, Beccles, Suffolk

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

Celebrating American National Poetry Month with four new podcasts

The Poetry Trust has a long tradition of showcasing leading contemporary US poets at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, as well as introducing UK audiences to some of America’s ‘best kept secrets’. Throughout April enjoy four new podcasts on The Poetry Channel:

Sharon Olds in conversation with British poet Michael Laskey. In an inspirational interview Olds talks about choosing poetry over prose so as not to have to ‘make things up’.

Albert Goldbarth enthuses about the poets who inspire him and discusses the role of the poet as a ‘conservator of ideas.’

Philip Levine’s familial, social and economic portrait of working class America has left a monumental testimony of mid-20th century American life. One of the most important American poets of our time discusses the paucity of political protest in today’s poetry.

The Poem Show American Special Enjoy the droll black comedy of Mark Halliday’s ‘Soul on a Bench’, the luminous connection with the natural world in Jane Hirshfield’s ‘Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight’, and an extraordinarily powerful account of human civilisation in Thomas Lux’s ‘The People of the Other Village’.

More National Poetry Month news & links:

The Academy of American Poets Sign up to receive a poem-a-day throughout April from the founders of National Poetry Month

Jonathan Cape celebrates US Poetry Month, featuring Sharon Olds as ‘author of the week’

Graywolf Press One of America’s leading not-for-profit literary publishers and the proud publishers of Albert Goldbarth

 

Short Cuts Cabaret & Open Mic Night, The Cut, Halesworth, 7.30pm

Friday 21 May 2010

The champion sideburns are back as Dean Parkin hosts another instalment of Suffolk’s cult-status cabaret night. We’ll be welcoming star guest Tim Turnbull, Aldeburgh Poetry Festival’s writer-in-residence in 2006 and described as a ‘future poet laureate’ by The Guardian. Winner of the Arts Foundation’s Performance Poetry Award, Turnbull has an anarchic stage presence and is simply one of the most entertaining wordsmiths in the country. Stand-up poets Andrea Porter and Yanny Mac will also be making special appearances. And of course the evening will also feature the very best - strange or stupendous but always memorable - Open Mic talent. Boogie-woogie (but classically-trained) maestro Maurice Horhut will be at the piano to provide any accompaniment. Food and drink is available at The Cut, contemporary arts venue, café & bar.

To apply for a performance slot (strictly 3 minutes), contact Dean on 01986 835950 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tickets cost £5, Call The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123

Support by The Co-op Community Fund

 

Eight exceptional poets reflect on the Aldeburgh Advanced Seminar

In March The Poetry Trust welcomed eight carefully-selected poets early in their publishing careers to its annual intensive retreat, led by two of the best tutors in the business - Michael Laskey and Peter Sansom. In a week unanimously rated as ‘excellent’, they received advice on all aspects of creative and professional development. This year’s participating poets showed enormous potential in an exceptionally strong year. We’re sure you’ll be hearing lots more in the future from: Peter Daniels, Rebecca Farmer, Holly Hopkins, Nicholas MacKinnon, Sophie Nicholls, Rebecca Perry, Angela Smith and Tom Warner.

“The Aldeburgh Advanced Seminar should be a model for all other courses like this.” - Nick Mackinnon

“The best thing that could have happened to me as a poet.” - Sophie Nicholls

“One of the best poetry experiences of my life.” - Rebecca Farmer

 

YES – a celebration of the life and work of Adrian Mitchell

Don’t miss the chance to see the hugely popular Wonderful Beast Theatre Company perform YES, a celebration of the life and work of our most passionate and political poets — Adrian Mitchell. YES was premiered at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in 2009 and received a rapturous response from the sell-out audience. This weekend you can enjoy this specially created programme of dance, poetry and songs, starring Sylvester McCoy at:

Cambridge Wordfest Saturday 10 April, 7.30pm £8 / £6
ADC Theatre Box Office, Park Street, Cambridge CB5 8AS
Box office: 01223 300085
www.cambridgewordfest.co.uk

The Cut, Halesworth Sunday 11 April, 8.00pm £10
The Cut, New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY
Box Office: 0845 673 2123
www.newcut.org

 

Take a walk on the mild side

Join Dean Parkin, The Poetry Trust’s Artists & Project’s Manager as he takes the road less travelled as part of the Suffolk Walking Festival. Dean will lead three walks sharing poems and stories along the way, as well as taking some unexpected diversions.

Saturday 15 May, 11.00, River Orwell (Free)
Wednesday 19 May, 10.00, Debenham (£4 adults, £2 children)
Saturday 22 May, 14.00, Hadleigh (£4 adults, £2 children)

Click for full details and booking

 

Four excellent poetry workshops at Writers’ Centre Norwich

The Poetry Trust wholeheartedly recommends four workshops coming up at Writers’ Centre Norwich. Try and get to one (or more!) of these essential courses, all of which are likely to sell out fast:

Making Poems with Alan Jenkins Saturday 24 April
Revitalise your approach to poetry with the Forward prize winner

Poetry Masterclass with Les Murray Tuesday 18 May
A rare opportunity to take part in a workshop and have your work read by one of the greatest living poets in the world, the Australian Les Murray

Bring Your Poetry to Life with Moniza Alvi
Saturday 29 May
Ensure that your poetry is an experience, rather than merely a record of one, with the T S Eliot Prize shortlisted poet

Re - envisioning and Redrafting the Poem with Mimi Khalvati Saturday 25 September
Try some new approaches with the founder of The Poetry School, one of the most outstanding teachers in the business

Further information (including venue, costs & booking): www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk
Phone: 01603 877177
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

Gainsborough’s House presents ‘In Conversation: Justin Partyka & George Szirtes’

Gainsborough’s House, 15 May, £8

Photographer Justin Partyka will give an illustrated lecture about his current exhibition, Working the Land Part I. Following refreshments there will be a lively discussion about the East Anglian landscape and its rural traditions with one of Britain’s foremost poets and 2010 T.S Eliot Prize nominee George Szirtes.
For further information and booking contact, 01787 372958 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

Other STUFF you might like…

Apples & Snakes - Job vacancy Programme Coordinator - East, Closing date 14 April 2010

Poetry-next-the-sea Festival 7 - 9 May 2010, Wells-next-the-Sea

The National Poetry Competition 2010 is now open for entries Deadline 31 October

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

2010 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize now open for submissions

The Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2010 is now open for submissions from publishers and individual poets. As the first serious ‘First Collection’ award, Aldeburgh’s is now one of the most prestigious and highly valued poetry prizes in the UK. Previous recipients include Robin Robertson, Colette Bryce and Nick Laird. The winner receives £3,000, plus a fee-paying invitation to read at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2011 and a weeks ‘protected’ writing time on the East Suffolk coast. Plans are afoot to extend the scope and benefits of the prize to offer mentoring for the winner and shortlisted poets and increased opportunities at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. The poet-judges this year are Michael Laskey (Chair), Neil Rollinson and Jo Shapcott.
Closing date for entries is 31 July 2010.

More information

Listen to Ciaran Berry, the 2008 winner on The Poetry Channel (scroll to Aldeburgh Backchat 8)

 

The Female Poem – does it exist? New podcast on The Poetry Channel

To mark International Women’s Day - Monday 8 March - we’ve produced a new podcast for The Poetry Channel on the vexed question of The Female Poem. This is an edited 20 minute version of the lively and wide-ranging one hour discussion chaired by Jo Shapcott during the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2009. Enjoy Maureen Duffy, Pascale Petit and Annie Freud debate, amongst other things, the horror of being labelled a ‘female poet’, whether the male poem is the default position, the importance of ‘outsider art’, why ‘miserable guys stalk the poetic world’ and whether Donne, Keats and Wyatt actually wrote ‘female’ poems.

The Female Poem podcast

 

The Poetry Toolkit – foolproof recipes for teaching poetry in the classroom

For more than a decade The Poetry Trust has been running creative workshops for teachers. This new (free) toolkit draws on this unrivalled experience and provides fun, adaptable, tried-and-tested exercises to get young people - and indeed people of any age - confidently writing poetry. Primary and secondary school teachers who kept on coming to our workshops have repeatedly said what a revelation it was to try writing themselves - putting themselves in the position of their pupils. Dip into the toolkit which is based on direct contributions from leading poet-tutors - including Mandy Coe, Peter Sansom, Jackie Wills and Anthony Wilson - for warm-ups and group exercises based on poem-jigsaws, photographs, eavesdropping and telling lies! Printed copies of the toolkit will be sent to all Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk schools who participated in the workshops.
Click for your free PDF download copy

 

Advanced Poetry Seminar welcomes outstanding new talent

The Poetry Trust’s fourth annual Advanced Poetry Seminar takes place this month, bringing together eight exceptional poets early in their publishing careers. The Seminar dynamically delivers on The Poetry Trust’s mission to identify talented poets and nurture their creative and professional development. The calibre of the nominations and applications this year (43 in total) was particularly high and the eight poets selected show real talent combined with strong evidence of commitment. Tutors Michael Laskey and Peter Sansom look forward to working with: Peter Daniels, Rebecca Farmer, Holly Hopkins, Nicholas MacKinnon, Sophie Nicholls, Rebecca Perry, Angela Smith and Tom Warner at Bruisyard Hall in Suffolk.

Enjoy a fly-on-the-wall podcast documentary of last year’s seminar on The Poetry Channel (scroll down to ‘The Write Stuff’)

 

Celebrated Scottish Poet Robin Robertson at UEA Literary Festival this month

Wednesday 17 March, 7.00pm, Lecture Theatre 1, University of East Anglia

The Poetry Trust is partnering the UEA Spring Literary Festival and can whole-heartedly recommend an evening with the outstanding Robin Robertson. Robin is the only poet to have won both the Aldeburgh and Forward First Collection Prizes (in 1997) and he has since won all three categories of Forward Prize. His poems draw on myth and the natural world - stark imagery of falconry, forests, fishermen - and his poetry is exhilarating in its oral and aural relish for language. A L Kennedy describes him as “master of the dark and wounded, the torn complexities of human relations.”

Tickets £6, telephone 01603 508050
Click for full programme

 

The Poetry Trust – Staff News

The Poetry Trust bids a very fond farewell this month to Judy Braggins, our administrator extraordinaire who has been a linchpin for the organisation for over five years. Judy’s exemplary warmth and commitment have been of enormous value during the Trust’s transformation from regional poetry hub to national literature flagship. She has proved herself a great friend to poetry and to the many national and international poets we’ve worked with since 2004.

Certainly she’s a hard act to follow, but we’re delighted to welcome Katie Burroughs - Judy’s administrator job-share since August 2009 - who will take up The Poetry Trust’s new role of Operations Manager from April 2010. Katie will be in the office four days a week and her energy, clear-sighted practicality and humour (oh, and her IT skills) promise to be invaluable to our next phase of development.

All administrative and operational questions should now be directed to Katie Burroughs. Contact her at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

Other Stuff you may like:

Cambridge Wordfest 2010 Spring 9 - 11 April
Look out for the fabulous Wonderful Beast Theatre Company’s production of YES - the cabaret celebrating the life and work of Adrian Mitchell which was commissioned by The Poetry Trust and premiered to a sold-out audience at the 2009 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.

Academy of American Poets - Poem on the Range

2010 Templar Poetry Pamphlet & Collection Prizes - closing date 8 May 2010

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

The art of translation – two new podcasts on The Poetry Channel

This month we’re celebrating the art of poetry translation. Every year poets in translation are a key element of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and a necessary reminder that not all poetry starts off in English! Enjoy two insightful and meditative conversations on the process and challenge of translating the uniqueness of another poet’s vision and voice.

Jamie McKendrick is the translator of the pre-eminent Italian poet Valerio Magrelli. Magrelli’s first UK publication The Embrace: Selected Poems was launched by Faber at the 2009 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. McKendrick suggests that translation involves revealing the language within the language and finding the distinct and unique tongue of the individual writer. Magrelli himself is an experienced translator, obsessed by the complex inner life of words.
The Poetry Channel 

Sasha Dugdale has won huge acclaim for her translations of Elena Shvarts, one of Russia’s greatest contemporary poets. In conversation with Robert Seatter she discusses how Shvarts’s extraordinarily eccentric view of the world has influenced her own poetry. And be sure not to miss her Russian recital of Robert Burns…
The Poetry Channel

 

More poetry in translation news and links…

The Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry Translation 2010: Three categories: Open, 18-and-under and 14-and-under. Deadline Friday 28 May 2010

The Poetry Translation Centre: Dedicated to translating contemporary poetry from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The British Centre for Literary Translation: Take a look at the new website for the UK’s leading centre for the development, promotion and support of literary translation.

Modern Poetry in Translation: The international magazine for the translation of poetry into English.

 

Poetry @ The Cut, Thursday 4 March, 7.30pm, The Cut, Halesworth

This spring join us at The Cut for an evening with two exceptionally warm and generous poets. This is a fantastic opportunity - rare in Suffolk - to hear such high quality live poetry.

Mimi Khalvati
Described by George Szirtes as “one of the most poignant and graceful poets currently writing in England”, Mimi Khalvati has published six collections and her work has been translated into nine languages. She has been praised for writing “some of the finest sad poems since Tennyson”. Her lyric poems touch on joyous celebrations of the physical world, snapshots from childhood and tender poems of family, loss and love.

Roger Robinson
“We need poets like Roger Robinson,” says Bernardine Evaristo who describes the Trinidadian writer as a “fresh, daring, sensitive, clear-sighted and big-hearted poetic voice”. Part of a new generation of writers who take their cues from music and comedy, his energetic performances have won him a legion of loyal fans. He delivered an outstanding and memorable reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival last autumn.

Tickets £6
Box office: 0845 673 2123
More information
Supported by The Limbourne Trust

 

STUFF about… Peter Sansom

Kicking-off a new monthly slot in which we delve deeper into the world and words of an individual poet we’re keen on, we bring you… STUFF about Peter Sansom. Peter has made ‘a sort of living’ from poetry for over 20 years and has been praised for the ‘candour of his confessions’ and his ‘surrealistic take on every day life’. Through residencies with Marks & Spencer, The Prudential and Morrisons he has sought to demystify contemporary poetry. As Director of The Poetry Business he has tutored countless poets, stressing the importance of ‘writing authentically’ and ‘saying genuinely what you genuinely need to say’. Described by The Guardian ‘as the best poetry teacher in the world’, Peter is the co-tutor of the Aldeburgh Advanced Seminar taking place next month. His latest pamphlet The Night is Young, is published by and available from The Rialto.

 

What’s The Poetry Trust been up to during the big freeze?

According to Dean Parkin (Creative Director), “The 2010 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival programme has been coming together since June last year. We’ve already got eight names confirmed (including three international poets) and the rest of the invitations will be going out by the end of February. The Festival is known for its general principle of not inviting poets back - a rule we’ve sometimes relaxed when there’s been a break of a decade or more. This year we’re currently aiming for a completely fresh line-up of poets and so far the eight confirmed poets are all first-timers. But things may change…

Once our main 12 poets are all in place (hopefully by the beginning of March!) then the fun begins: sorting out the reading order and concurrent events; finding out more about poets’ particular interests and enthusiasms; identifying less obvious poets for stimulating close readings and craft talks; and best of all, acting as a matchmaker to create unusual pairings for conversations.

Festival aside, I’m looking forward to Mimi Khalvati and Roger Robinson coming to The Cut in March. Mimi’s workshop sold-out predictably fast but there are still tickets available for the evening reading. We’re also busy recording new poem shows for The Poetry Channel for a U.S. Poets series we’ll be running throughout April (coinciding with National Poetry Month in America).

And… when I emerge from my three days a week at Poetry Trust Towers, I’m busy preparing my own show for Edinburgh in August…

www.deanparkin.co.uk

 

New Board Member

The Poetry Trust is seeking a specialist new trustee to join its dynamic board. Current membership comprises a strong mix of marketing, legal, financial, digital, and business planning skills and experience. But the board needs a champion money-raiser and advocate. In today’s difficult financial climate, the Trust must maintain its outstanding fundraising track record to ensure a robust future. Could you be just who we’re looking for?

For an informal chat and more information, please call 01986 835950. Or send a CV and statement of suitability to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (The Poetry Trust, The Cut, 9 New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8BY)

 

Arts Council Consultation – Achieving great art for everyone

Between now and 14 April 2010, Arts Council England are consulting artists, arts organisations and other key stakeholders on future priorities for the arts. This is a major consultation that will help shape arts funding and development over the next ten years. Poetry has been highlighted as a particular priority area within the literature strand. Share your views

 

Follow The Poetry Trust on:

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You may also be interested in …

Words by the Water Literature Festival 5-14 March, Cumbria
Including the Mirehouse Poetry Prize reading on 13 March

The Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlets Two awards worth £5,000; the Poetry Award recognises an outstanding work of poetry published in pamphlet form in 2009, and the Publishers’ Award is for a publisher to reward their endeavours in promoting poetry pamphlets in 2009. Deadline 12 March 2010.

Writer in Residence The Hosking House is seeking to appoint a writer for its twelfth arts residency. The appointment is restricted to women aged forty or more. Deadline 12 April 2010.

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

New poem shows on The Poetry Channel

Happy 2010 to all STUFF readers and to get the New Year off to a great start here’s three rewarding new programmes. Take a tour behind the scenes of the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival with three erudite and generous poets who offer reflections, advice and inspiration. Keep an eye on The Poetry Channel this year as The Poetry Trust continues to develop this as the place to go for lively poetry interviews and discussions. And tell us what you think: Do you enjoy the shows? Any suggestions for improvements? Please drop us an email at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Aldeburgh Backchat: Roger Robinson
Revealing insights from Trinidadian writer Roger Robinson who reflects on his inspirational father, his outstanding teachers and the thorny issue of cultural diversity in contemporary poetry. He also talks about finding the right place to write and the importance of ‘just writing, not judging’ in the first instance.

Aldeburgh Backchat: Ciaran Berry
Last year’s winner of the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize discusses the experience of devising a first collection and how he plans to spend his ‘protected’ writing time - a unique feature of this national poetry prize. He also considers the cultural traditions and interplay of poetry between Ireland, the USA and the UK.

Interview with Maureen Duffy
One of the UK’s most versatile writers with over half a century of work, Maureen Duffy is a respected poet, novelist, playwright and biographer. Here she talks to Robert Seatter about the ‘constant beacon of Sappho’, her ‘immense identification with Keats’, and finding ‘the female muse’ through love poetry.

 

The Advanced Poetry Seminar – Call for nominations/applications 15 - 19 March 2010

* Deadline: Friday 12 February 2010

“Stretched, challenged and propelled”, “Undoubtedly one of the best weeks of my life” - this is how two previous participants described their experience of the Aldeburgh Seminar, an outstanding professional and creative development opportunity for poets early in their publishing careers. The Poetry Trust is looking for a maximum of eight UK poets either at first collection or between first and second collection stage to participate in this residential course. Led by Michael Laskey and Peter Sansom, two exceptional poet/tutors with strong editorial experience, the course will include: workshopping, tutorials, craft talks and practical advice on giving readings. Over five-days participants will stay and learn together at Bruisyard Hall, a 14th century atmospheric and spacious retreat in rural Suffolk. Tuition, accommodation and all meals are included in the highly subsidised cost of £285 per participant. Further details and application/nomination information
or call 01986 835950 or email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Enjoy a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the 2009 Aldeburgh Seminar on The Poetry Channel (scroll to the 10th podcast)

 

 

Poetry @ The Cut – An exhilarating mix of vibrant voices

Thursday 4 March, 7.30pm, £6, The Cut, Halesworth
Box Office: 0845 673 2123

This spring The Poetry Trust welcomes two exceptionally warm and engaging poets for an evening of high-calibre life-affirming poetry. Join us at The Cut contemporary arts venue to enjoy an evening with:

Mimi Khalvati - Described by George Szirtes as “one of the most poignant and graceful poets currently writing in England”, Mimi Khalvati has published six collections and her work has been translated into nine languages. Her poems are full of generosity of spirit and touch on joyous celebrations of the physical world, snapshots from childhood and tender poems of family, loss and love. Enjoy Mimi reading ‘It’s heartache’ on The Poetry Channel (Poem Show 1)

Roger Robinson - “We need poets like Roger Robinson,” says Bernardine Evaristo who describes the Trinidadian writer as “a fresh, daring, sensitive, clear-sighted and big-hearted poetic voice”. Part of a new generation of writers who take their cues from music and comedy, his energetic performances have won him a legion of loyal fans. He delivered a memorable reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival last autumn. Watch Roger read his poem ‘The Misuse of Magic’.

* Creative writing workshop with Mimi Khalvati
From prose to poetry, Thursday 4 March, 4 - 6pm, £15

Prior to the evening reading, Mimi Khalvati will lead an inspiring and insightful workshop exploring the difference between poetry and prose. Just 12 places are available for this opportunity - rare in Suffolk - to generate fresh work and learn from one of the most outstanding teachers in the business. To book a place contact the Box Office on 0845 673 2123.
Listen to Mimi Khalvati’s whistle-stop tour of the ‘line-break’ and the essence of poetry on The Poetry Channel (Aldeburgh Craft Talk: Mimi Khalvati)

 

Brilliant poetry at UEA Spring Literary Festival 2010

Poetry is a particular highlight of the UEA Spring Literary Festival this year, with three outstanding internationally acclaimed poets coming to the University of East Anglia. The Poetry Trust is partnering the festival and would like to draw your attention to the amazingly good value Poetry Passport - a ticket that enables you to attend all three poetry evenings for just £12. Each poet will read and discuss their work and there is dedicated time for questions from the audience. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear world-class poetry in the East of England.

Don Paterson Tuesday 26 January, 7.00pm, Lecture Theatre 1, UEA
Just awarded The Queens Gold Medal for Poetry, Paterson’s fourth collection Rain won the 2009 Forward Prize and was described by Prize Chair Josephine Hart as “knee-weakeningly good”.

Robin Robertson Wednesday 17 March, 7.00pm, Lecture Theatre 1, UEA
Robertson is the only poet to have won both the Aldeburgh and Forward First Collection Prizes (in 1997) and he has since won all three categories of Forward Prize.

Simon Armitage Wednesday 19 May, 7.00pm, Lecture Theatre 1, UEA
A close-runner for the laureate and currently poet-in-residence at the Southbank Centre, he has published nine collections of poems which, to quote Carol Ann Duffy, “have an energy which comes directly from life now and the living language.”

To buy a ‘Poetry Passport’ or tickets for individual readings (£6), telephone 01603 508050. For full programme information visit: www.uea.ac.uk/litfest

 

Short Cuts Cabaret & Open Mic Night, The Cut, Halesworth, 7.30pm, Friday 22 January 2010

Why not let an oversized mock-Russian ballet dancer chase away those January blues. Join us for Suffolk’s cult-status variety show as we welcome special guest ‘Madame Galina New Forces Sweetheart’ whose London show was described by Time Out as ‘the bargain of the week ticket’ and as providing ‘non-stop belly-ache laughter’. The evening will also feature the dazzling array of strange or stupendous Open Mic talent with its heady mix of comedy, music, spoken word, live poetry and audience participation. Hosted by Dean Parkin (think Eric Morecambe crossed with Philip Larkin), with jazz and boogie-woogie maestro Maurice Horhut at the piano. Food and drink will also be available at The Cut, contemporary arts venue, café & bar.

To apply for a slot, contact Dean on 01986 835950 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tickets cost £5, Call The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123

Supported by The Co-op Community Fund

 

Christopher Reid wins Costa Book Award

Huge congratulations to Christopher Reid on winning the Poetry category of the Costa Book Awards this week. Christopher is a good friend of The Poetry Trust and former judge of the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. His winning collection A Scattering - a tribute to his late wife - was described by judges as “intensely moving, compelling and honest.” More

 

You may also enjoy…

TS Eliot Prize Readings, Sunday 17 January 2010, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
www.southbankcentre.co.uk

The Petty Concerns of Luke Wright, 12th - 30th January
The Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington www.lukewright.co.uk

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival celebrates its 21st with a record-breaking year

Tom Paulin said it was ‘the best poetry festival - indeed, literary festival’ that he had ever been to, and with a record overall attendance figure of 4,630, there was certainly something of a buzz to the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. Thank you to all of you who made it and also those who completed the online Festival survey. An overwhelming 92% of you rated your Festival experience as either ‘excellent’ (49%) or ‘good’ (43%). Philip Levine was chosen as the ‘favourite’ Festival poet, his reading was described by one attendee as ‘an inspirational visual and auditory experience’. Other highlights included: Geoffrey Hill, who showed a surprisingly lighter side when explaining a ‘tum-tutty, tum-titty’ rhyme scheme and asking the audience not to snigger; Roger Robinson delivering ‘one of the most energetic readings Aldeburgh has ever seen’ and the ‘witty, acerbic and kooky’ Kate Fox causing hysterics with her Geordie take on existentialism, ‘Why I?’

Congratulations to Lucius Redman who has won the Festival questionnaire Prize draw and will receive a year’s subscription to Poetry, the leading US magazine from the Poetry Foundation in Chicago.

If you couldn’t make it to Aldeburgh this year or if you’d like to share your Festival highlights, join in conversations on Facebook and Twitter. Keep an eye on The Poetry Channel where you will soon be able to listen to some Festival favourites. Enjoy the story of 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in photos. And have a read of the lively Guardian Online ‘Female Poem’ blog from the Festival.

...and lastly a date for your diaries…The 22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 5 - 7 November 2010.

 

Watch Philip Levine in conversation with Naomi Jaffa

Enjoy Philip Levine - one the most significant US poets of the last 50 years - in conversation with The Poetry Trust director Naomi Jaffa. Levine received a long ovation following his sell-out reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival - his first UK appearance for over 30 years. In this short film Levine touches on growing up in Detroit, ‘needing a larger world’ and the impact of ‘the greatest teacher he ever had’ John Berryman. A big thank you to Neil Astley, Founder and Editor of Bloodaxe Books for producing this short film, recorded live during this year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. Click to watch

 

Issue six of The Poetry Paper – Order your free copy

Where else can you find exclusive interviews with Sharon Olds and Alan Brownjohn, new poems by Tom Paulin, Philip Levine and David Morley, the poetry CVs of Kate Fox and Richard Price and a ‘questioned by poems’ feature with Ciaran Berry, Peter Blegvad, Imtiaz Dharker and John Hegley? Issue Six of the beautifully designed Poetry Paper is now making its way to poetry lovers across the globe. The Poetry Paper is entirely free (we will even drop it though your - UK only - letter box for no charge!) To order a copy for yourself or several for a reading group or writing course, simply complete an order form

 

J O Morgan wins Aldeburgh First Collection Prize

The winner of the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2009 - one of the most important and established poetry prizes in the UK - was announced at the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. The recipient of this £3,000 prize for the year’s best first collection is Scottish poet J O Morgan for Natural Mechanical (CB Editions). The book - which was also shortlisted for the Forward Best First Collection Prize - comprises a single narrative poem recounting a resourceful childhood on the Isle of Skye. In a year attracting a record 92 entries, Aldeburgh poet/judges David Constantine, Mimi Khalvati and Michael Laskey (Chair) were unanimous in their final decision. Mimi Khalvati said: “Such an engaging, affecting book. It effortlessly combines different verse-forms: remarkable, particularly for a first collection, in deftly tackling a book-length narrative, and also refreshing in its sense of tradition.” The Guardian online reveals winner of the 2009 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize

To order a copy of Natural Mechanical see: www.cbeditions.com

 

Advanced Poetry Seminar, 15 – 19 March 2010

The Poetry Trust invites expressions of interest for the fourth Advanced Poetry Seminar which will take place at the stunning Bruisyard Hall in Suffolk from 15 - 19 March 2010. Co-tutored for a fourth successive year by Michael Laskey and Peter Sansom, this intensive residential retreat is designed to offer accelerated professional and creative development to a small group of carefully selected poets early in their publishing careers. Previous attenders - and subsequent prize-winning and first book ‘successes’ - include Allison McVety, Helen Mort, Katrina Naomi, Ed Reiss, Philip Rush, Kathryn Simmonds and Saradha Soobrayen.

Successful applicants will either be at or genuinely close to their first collection stage. We will also consider applicants who are in the transitional period between first and second books. Further details will be available shortly and to register your interest please contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 01986 835950.

 

 

Short Cuts Cabaret & Open Mic Night, The Cut, Halesworth, Friday 22 January 2010

Join us for Suffolk’s cult status variety show and find out what all the fuss is about. In January, Short Cuts welcomes special guest ‘Madame Galina New Forces Sweetheart’ - a burly Welsh bloke in a tutu - whose fans include Joanna Lumley, Madonna and 42 Commando. Clearly not a night to miss! The evening will also feature the dazzling array of strange or stupendous Open Mic talent with its heady mix of comedy, music, spoken word, live poetry and audience participation. Hosted by Dean Parkin (think Eric Morecambe crossed with Philip Larkin), with jazz and boogie-woogie maestro Maurice Horhut at the piano. Food and drink will also be available at The Cut, contemporary arts venue, café & bar.

To apply for a slot, contact Dean on 01986 835950 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tickets cost £5, Call The Cut Box office on 0845 6732123

Supported by The Co-op Community Fund

 

You may also enjoy…

Poetry Daily - a new poem every day. Subscribe at: http://poems.com/about_newsletter.php

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

Forty-eight hours and counting! The 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 6 - 8 November 2009

Just two days to go until the finest national and international poets land in Aldeburgh for a weekend of outstanding words, music, exhibitions and cabaret. We do hope you can join us in Suffolk’s irresistible seaside town for this celebratory 21st Festival. It’s the complete poetry experience - with 49 events (15 entirely free). As a ‘Pick of the Week’ in The Independent and featured in Saturday’s Guardian Guide, Aldeburgh is the place to be this weekend. If you can’t make it in person, there’ll be plenty of highlights to enjoy on The Poetry Channel in the months to come.

A number of events have now sold out but there are still seats available for some truly fantastic readings and performances. A small taster below.
Call the Box office on: 01728 687110

 

Philip Levine’s Journeys

Philip Levine is a giant of US poetry, making his first UK appearance for over 30 years. His deeply human poetry of the assembly line finds a ‘voice for the voiceless’. And according to The Poetry Trust’s Naomi Jaffa and Dean Parkin who heard Levine ‘in conversation’ at the Dodge Poetry Festival in New Jersey, he’s a phenomenally entertaining raconteur with a refreshingly frank approach! No poetry fan should miss this very rare opportunity to hear him.

Philip Levine’s Journeys, Saturday 7 November, 2.00 - 2.45pm, £7

 

Family Reading: John Hegley

A comic genius for all ages. Join the rib-achingly funny John Hegley for an hour of songs, poems and joining in’s. The evening begins with a short and always endearing reading by the winners of the Suffolk Young Poets Competition.

Family Reading: John Hegley, Friday 6 November, 6.00 - 7.00pm, £6

 

Performance: Peter Blegvad

Successful Singer/Songwriter Peter Blegvad will provide a musical interlude during the weekend of words. Described by The Poetry Trust’s Artistic Director Dean Parkin as a ‘veritable mix of Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen, Loudon Wainwright III and Tom Waits’, this is a rare chance to hear him solo and acoustic. Take a listen to one of Peter’s songs.

Performance: Peter Blegvad, Saturday 7 November, 5.45 - 6.30pm, £6

 

The Poetry Paper

Festival goers will be the first poetry lovers in the country to get their hands on Issue Six of The Poetry Paper. This beautifully designed (and shockingly pink!) paper features exclusive interviews with Sharon Olds and Alan Brownjohn, as well as new poems from Tom Paulin, Philip Levine, David Morley and more. Peter Blegvad, the Festival’s Commissioned Illustrator has lent his surreal vision to the artwork - find out what happens when his Independent on Sunday cartoon creation Leviathan ‘Goes to Poetry School’. And the question we most wanted to ask Festival poets? What’s your favourite seduction poem?! And if that wasn’t enough, The Poetry Paper is entirely free, so make sure you pick up a copy in Aldeburgh or contact us and we’ll even send it to your door (UK addresses only).

 

Blogger in Residence

Join our official ‘Blogger in Residence’ and Commander of all things Facebook, Charles Christian, as he takes on Aldeburgh, armed with just a Blackberry and an ‘Access all Areas’ Festival pass. Charles is Publisher & Editor of the poetry blog Ink, Sweat and Tears. Throughout the weekend he will be sharing his Festival experience with his 10,500 regular readers and hopefully some new friends. Will he be called upon to provide backing vocals to John Hegley’s droll reflections on life? Will he find his first encounter with England’s greatest living poet Geoffrey Hill suitably inspiring? And more importantly will he ever make it to the front of the legendary Aldeburgh Fish & Chip shop queue?! Follow Charles and share your own Festival experience at www.ink-sweat-and-tears.com or by joining The Poetry Trust’s Facebook group.

 

Look out for …STUFF November 2009 Part two …

With a full Festival round-up and details of the winner of the 2009 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize ...

 

Join the party - The 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 6- 8 November

Festival fever has well and truly gripped The Poetry Trust office with just four weeks to go until an exceptional line-up of world-class poets descends on Aldeburgh. Tickets for Geoffrey Hill, perhaps England’s greatest living poet, have sold out as have all craft talks, and sales are up by 33% on last year. However there are still seats for the main ‘three-handed’ readings featuring outstanding writers from America, Pakistan, Italy, Russia and all over the UK. Festival goers will also be the first poetry-lovers in the country to get their hands on Issue 6 of The Poetry Paper, a beautifully illustrated and completely free publication featuring an exclusive interview with Sharon Olds, new poems from Tom Paulin, Philip Levine and Annie Freud, and lots more. So take a look at the programme and join us for a celebratory 21st birthday Festival in the irresistible small seaside town of Aldeburgh.

Full Festival programme: www.poetrytrust.org
Box office: 01728 687110 www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

Your invitation to the Festival launch party

Thursday 5 November, 2009, 6.00 - 7.30pm Peter Pears Gallery, Aldeburgh

Come and raise the curtain on the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival with wine, canapés, friends and poetry. All are welcome on Thursday 5 November to the Festival reception for an exhibition preview of ‘Poetic Polydipsia & other pictures’ by Peter Blegvad and the book launch of A Casual Knack of Living: Collected Poems by Aldeburgh’s foremost international translator, critic and poet Herbert Lomas. If you would like to join us, RSVP by Friday 30 October to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 01986 835950

 

Luton’s finest export – the ‘scandalously talented’ John Hegley

From his ‘Luton Bungalow’ to poetry superstar, comic genius John Hegley will reflect on his journey on Saturday 7 November during the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. Audiences can expect an hour of inspired poetry, comedy and music from the Comedy Store and Edinburgh Festival veteran. He will be prompted by the dynamic Peggy Hughes, and audiences may well be called upon to provide harmonic backing vocals to his droll reflections on the misery of existence - as well as the more serious subjects of potatoes, croutons and dogs.

John Hegley’s Journey, Saturday 7 November
James Cable Room, 11.00am - Noon, £8
Family Reading: John Hegley, Friday 6 November
Jubilee Hall, 6.00 - 7.00pm, £6
Full Festival programme: www.poetrytrust.org
Box office: 01728 687110 or www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

Peter Blegvad - a rare solo set by the engaging singer-songwriter

New York born renaissance man Peter Blegvad is best known for his inspired Independent on Sunday comic strip ‘Leviathan’. He is also a fine guitarist and an exceptionally talented singer-songwriter. A member of cult bands Slapp Happy and Henry Cow, his songs have been covered by, among others, Fairport Convention and Leo Sayer. Join him in Aldeburgh, for a timely musical interlude in the weekend of words, and a rare chance to hear him solo and acoustic - with his trademark poetic wordplay, surrealism and cool tunes.

Saturday 7 November, Jubilee Hall, 5.45-6.30pm, £6
Click to enjoy Peter’s great song ‘In The Meantime’
Full Festival programme: www.poetrytrust.org
Box office: 01728 687110 www.aldeburgh.co.uk

 

Shortlist announced for Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2009

The shortlist for the 2009 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize - one of the most influential and established poetry prizes in the UK - signals the arrival of five authentic and distinctive new poets.

Judge David Constantine says “contemporary poetry in the UK is thriving” with 2009 attracting a record 92 entries. The Poetry Trust announced the shortlist to coincide with today’s National Poetry Day:

Sian Hughes for The Missing (Salt Publishing)
J O Morgan for Natural Mechanical (C B Editions)
Andrew Philip for The Ambulance Box (Salt Publishing)
Philip Rush for Big Purple Garden Paintings (Yew Tree Press)
Dawn Wood for Quarry (Templar Poetry)

The result will be announced on Saturday 7 November during the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 6-8 November 2009. The winner receives a cash prize of £3,000, a weeks ‘protected’ writing time on the Suffolk coast and a fee-paying invitation to read at the 2010 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. Click for more information

 

Follow The Poetry Trust on Twitter

Poetry sounds like… a curing song from the well which contains oceans and ashes
Pascale Petit

Follow The Poetry Trust on Twitter and enjoy a taster of the Festival poets on the ‘sound of poetry’ in the run up to the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.

 

Michael Laskey poem unveiled at Hospital

Michael Laskey’s poem Treatment, inspired by the life, knowledge and experience of patients and staff, has been unveiled at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH). The poem was commissioned to mark the end of the first year of the hugely successful ‘Poetry Treatment’ - a partnership project between The Poetry Trust and the NNUH. Anna Dugdale, Chief Executive of the hospital unveiled the poem and spoke personally of how the project poems had provided enormous pleasure and moments of calm reflection during busy hospital days.

Read Press Coverage
More information and read Michael’s poem ‘Treatment’

 

Close Reading, Good Writing - a pre-Festival poetry course from the Poetry School

Enjoy the unique Aldeburgh spirit for longer with a Poetry School course led by David Constantine in the run up to the Festival. Three mornings of close reading, discussing, thinking about and translating poetry - all activities to refill your writerly reservoirs. There are still, amazingly, a few places left on this course which includes a one-to-one feedback session with David to talk about your poetry in progress.

P.S David Constantine was a tutor on one of The Poetry Trust’s own residential courses a few years back and we unequivocally recommend his superlative skills, wisdom and care.

Church Hall of St Peter & St Paul Church, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Wednesday 4 - Friday 6 November, 10.30am - 1pm
£130 (£90 concs).

Book online  or call: 0207 582 1679

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.

 

The Poetry Prom

Thank - you to all of you who completed the online audience survey following this summers’ Poetry Prom. All those who left their email address were entered into a prize draw and Emma Pitt-Steel has won signed copies of the latest collections from the three Prom poets.

 

You may also enjoy…

Serpentine Gallery Poetry Marathon, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, London 17 - 18 October www.serpentinegallery.org

Inside Out Festival, venues across London, 19-25 October www.lcace.org.uk

 

Aldeburgh welcomes Philip Levine – one of the most significant US poets of the last 50 years

Appearing in the UK for the first time in 30 years, The Poetry Trust is delighted to announce that Philip Levine will be reading at the 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 6 - 8 November 2009.

Born in 1928 in industrial Detroit, Levine’s familial, social and economic portrait of working class America has left a monumental testimony of mid-20th century American life. His poetry of the assembly line finds a ‘voice for the voiceless’.

Philip Levine will be in conversation with Naomi Jaffa, The Poetry Trust director, on Saturday 7 November, reflecting on, amongst other things, ‘poetry, work, jazz, fountain pens, horse racing, Spanish Anarchists, birth and transfiguration…’ He will also be reading on Sunday 9 November in the Jubilee Hall.

Click for the full Festival programme and booking information

Listen to Levine discuss his life and works and read several of his poems

 

Festival poet Albert Goldbarth on the ‘pizzazz of innocence’

An extraordinary voyage of discovery is promised as Albert Goldbarth, perhaps one of the best kept secrets of American poetry, joins the stunning 21st Aldeburgh Poetry Festival line-up.
Goldbarth’s poetry celebrates the ‘lingual gush of invention’ as he combines pop-culture fanaticism with erudite research into the far corners of modern culture.
A self-confessed sci-fi fanatic, Goldbarth has an awesome collection of toy spaceships and robots. “I love the 1950s outer space look - Cadillac-finned rocket ships, bubble-helmeted space guys and gals, fantastical guns that go zap.” Goldbarth will be appearing at three Festival events, including his Sunday 9 November talk ‘The Outer Space Collector’ in which he will share poems, observations and photographic proof of the “pizzazz of innocence”.

Click for the full Festival programme and booking information

Click for a tour of Goldbarth’s toy collection and to listen to him reading his poems

 

Limited edition Alan Brownjohn pamphlet available to order

In Ludbrooke: An Introduction - a stylish new pamphlet from The Poetry Trust - Alan Brownjohn introduces Ludbrooke, his eponymous anti-hero. “I’ve found somebody fictitious to represent the disagreeable elements in my own character”, Alan explains. “He’s devious and up to all sorts of furtive ruses. In fact Ludbrooke has more than a little seedy panache!”

This is the first time Alan’s ‘Ludbrooke’ poems have been brought together in one volume and according to Alan Jenkins, Literary Editor of the TLS, “Alan’s late flowering with Ludbrooke is one of the best things going on in poetry at the moment.”

Another fan is Dennis O’Driscoll: “Alan is astonishing: the Ludbrooke poems are among his very best - a brilliantly wry creation, lovably roguish, yet deeply vulnerable too…”

There are just 300 limited edition copies of Ludbrooke: An Introduction. They cost £5 (+ £1 P&P) and can only be purchased direct from The Poetry Trust. To place an order, call 01986 835950 or fill in the order form

We are able to accept payment by cheque or by card. To pay by debit or credit card, please call the office with your order and card details.

Enjoy Alan reading a ‘Ludbrooke‘ poem on The Poetry Channel (on ‘The Poetry Prom Poets’)

 

Over 600 enjoy poetry of the highest calibre at the 2009 Poetry Prom

At what has to be the largest audience for contemporary poetry in the UK, over 600 people enjoyed world-class writers at the 7th Poetry Prom. In an energetic, warm and bold performance Finuala Dowling demonstrated why she’s is one of the most engaging writers in South Africa today. Alan Brownjohn, billed as a ‘national treasure’, told the audience he preferred ‘national liability’ as he read from his new pamphlet of ‘Ludbrooke’ poems. And Sharon Olds more than lived up to her reputation as ‘one of America’s greatest living poets’. Her captivating reading epitomised the unique value of the Poetry Prom experience as hundreds of people hung on every word of her deeply personal and affecting poetry.

If you attended The Poetry Prom and would like to tell us what you thought please complete the online survey and help us plan next year’s Poetry Prom.

 

Join The Poetry Trust Facebook group

The Poetry Trust Facebook group is now up and running - it’s never cool to arrive at a party early! We want to provide a very open and international forum for poets and poetry lovers everywhere. Please join the group and get talking.

Just click here