On Friday 5 May, Matthew Sweeney will be reading with Ben Parker at Smokey Joe's in Cheltenham at 19.00. Matthew Sweeney's reputation needs requires no further comment from me, but this event will be particularly worth attending to hear work from Parker's first collection, The Amazing Lost Man. I've been a fan since reading his first pamphlet a few years ago and I'm eager to hear the new work.
On Saturday 6 May at 17.00 in St Andrew's Church, Jane Draycott will be reading from her translation of the 14th century poem The Pearl as well from new work. I'm intrigued to hear more about the process of rendering this beautiful text into contemporary English.
On Sunday 7 May at 15.30 in the Cheltenham Playhouse, I'm looking forward to hearing a showcase of poets published by Worple Press, one of out best independent presses, and especially to a reading by John Freeman from his collection What Possessed Me, as previously featured on this blog.
Also on Sunday 7 May, at 19.00 in the Cheltenham Playhouse, I'll be hearing Paul Stephenson read from his Happenstance pamphlet The Days that Followed Paris, which engages with the aftermath of the November 2015 terror attacks in the French capital. I'll be reading a couple of poems myself, alongside other local writers, on related themes. The intersection of poetry and politics is very much to the fore in this year's festival, and I'll be fascinated to see how Stephenson deals with this difficult subject matter.
On Monday 8 May, my fellow Nine Arches poet Roy McFarlane will be reading with Michael Henry and Tricia Torrington at the Playhouse from 19.00. For those who have never seen Roy perform before, this will be a revelation. The work is brilliant on the page, but Roy's charismatic delivery is not to be missed.
On the evening of Tuesday 9 May, there are two treats in store: a reading with Gram Joel Davis from his much anticipated V Press collection, Bolt Down this Earth, and new work from Rory Waterman. Be at the Muffin Man in Cheltenham from 19.00 for this two events!
On Wednesday 10 May at 19.45, Cheltenham Poetry Festival's very own Howard Timms will be offering a performance of his own drama about Oscar Wilde. Howard himself will be in the eponymous role for Oscar Wilde's Women, which is sure to be a treat.
On Thursday 11 May at 20.00, also in the Playhouse, Indigo Dreams will be showcasing a number of their poets, including Jennie Farley, who has previously featured as a guest poet on this blog. Indigo Dreams is building up an excellent list and there will be something here for everyone.
I'll be at the festival all day on 13 May, first running a workshop on 'Poetry and Politics' (a few places still available!), then reading with Alistair Noon at 17.00 in St Andrew's Church. In between those two events, I'll be listening to Sasha Dugdale and Alistair Noon talking about poetry and translation and hearing readings by Sasha Dugdale and Katherine Towers.
That same evening, Stuart Maconie returns to the festival to share some of his favourite poetry. I saw him last year and have remember it fondly as a warm, witting, moving and enlightening performance. Maconie is a real poetry fan-boy and his enthusiasm is infectious. The event will take place at 18.30 in Cheltenham Playhouse.
On Sunday 14 May at 14.00 in St Andrew's Church, I'll be listening to Fiona Sampson discuss Mary Shelley and the reading with Sampson and others that will follow. Sampson is one of our best poets, but also an excellent and lucid critic, whose views are always worth hearing.
Needless to say, there are plenty more delights on offer this year, with slams, performance events, workshops and poetry films, to mention only some of the other varieties of poetry in the programme. Small festivals like this survive on ticket sales and the support of the poetry-loving public, so I urge you to book early and make the most of this year's festival!
No comments:
Post a Comment