One week only!
9 - 16 October 2008
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Virtual Ledbury Poetry Festival
One week only! 9 - 16 October 2008 |
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| Celebrating National Poetry Day | ||
| 2009 Festival 3rd - 12th July | 2008 Festival Photos // Ledbury Reporter Reviews // 2008 Full Programme |
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Jackie Kay was our 2008 Poet in Residence, offering workshops and ‘one on one’ sessions throughout the festival. She is an electric performer and the event was both funny and moving. Her books include Adoption Papers and her latest Darling: New and Selected Poems.
Jackie Kay performing Map of Australia on Friday 11th July 
Listen to a longer section from Jackie Kay. Discover more about Jackie Kay |
Every year in July the small, picturesque market town of Ledbury, nestling at the foot of the Malvern Hills, stages the UK’s biggest and most fabulous poetry extravaganza! With around 70 events over 10 days, Ledbury Poetry Festival is world renowned and has welcomed leading poets from the UK and beyond. The line-up for the 2008 Festival included Carol Ann Duffy, John Agard, Jackie Kay, Vicki Feaver, Jean Sprackland, Ian Duhig, Matthew Sweeney, Gillian Allnutt, Michael Rosen, Blake Morrison, David Morley, Katrina Porteous and David Hart. Poets travelled from Finland, Syria, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia and the USA to appear, including Pulitzer prize nominee Martín Espada and the inspirational speaker and reader of poetry, David Whyte. The Festival prides itself in creating unique links between poetry and other art forms, welcoming Idler Tom Hodgkinson, the actor best known for playing Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, Roger Lloyd Pack, Marina Warner, the hugely significant writer and thinker on myth and fairy tales and the musician and artist Leafcutter John. All this and more, including performances by Mark Gwynne Jones and the Psychicbread, Polarbear and John Berkavitch, Aoife Mannix, Luke Wright, Shedman, slams, open mics and workshops. A true feast that was truly savoured by everyone who came and joined the fun! To celebrate National Poetry Day we are offering a few of the many highlights of the 2008 Ledbury Poetry Festival. These tasters will give you a feel for the Festival, make you realise what you missed, and inspire you to visit Ledbury Poetry Festival, 3 – 12 July 2009.
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Northumbrian poetry and music with poet Katrina Porteous and Northumbria’s top folk musician, English concertina player and piper, Alistair Anderson. Katrina Porteous performs poems from The Blue Lonnen and Longshore Drift. Other books include The Lost Music about the Northumbrian inshore fishing community. The response to this event was, “more please!” No one wanted it to end. Discover more about Katrina Porteous |
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Martín Espada and Jon Andersen gave accomplished and impassioned performances, interspersing their poems with illuminating comments and anecdotes. This event was pure entertainment. On tour from the USA with Smokestack books to promote a new anthology, Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poetry from the Other USA.
Pulitzer Prize finalist, Martín Espada has published 14 books including Crucifixion in the Plaza De Armas, The Republic of Poetry, A Mayan Astronomer in Hells Kitchen and City of Coughing and Dead Radiators.
He will be reading with Paul Farley at the Bluecoat in Liverpool on National Poetry Day, 9 October, at 8.00 PM.
More about Martín Listen to 2 extracts from Martín's reading below. |
Polarbear and John Berkavitch are two brilliant story-teller poets. Their performance was excellent, intelligent, sharp, observant and effortlessly funny.
Catch Polarbear at the Birmingham Rep for his new show of If I Cover My Nose You Can't See Me Polarbear's Myspace site John Berkavitch's Myspace site Watch Polarbear and John Berkavitch performing at the Burgage Hall below. |
Vicki Feaver and Jean Sprackland are two huge talents and they are also warm, engaging and humorous performers. Hearing them read together was a real treat.
Award winning poet, Vicki Feaver’s books include The Handless Maiden and The Book of Blood.
Listen to Vicki below. |
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