The Cheltenham Poetry Festival Team ANNA SAUNDERS Chief Executive Director
Anna is an event manager, communication specialist and poet whose first collection Communion, was published in September 2011.
‘The festival is a triumph!’ - Alison Brackenbury, poet
Anna has extensive experience in running poetry based events, which include Earshot (described as ‘joyful anarchy’ by Adam Horovitz) and Poetry Café at Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum.
This year we have nearly 100 performers taking to the stage over a full 5 days devoted to spoken word and live literature events and many of our events are free! We are sure you will find plenty to inspire and delight. Please join us.
Anna founded the festival in 2010 to create a platform for new writers to showcase their work, and enable visitors at the festival to enjoy the work of internationally acclaimed poets.
Anna Saunders Cheltenham Poetry Festival Executive Director Our festival runs in venues all over the town including Cheltenham Town Hall. For more details, and a map, please see our Venues section on page 28. Tickets can be purchased at the Cheltenham Town Hall box office, 0844 576 2210 or www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk
Carolyn Finlay Festival Director
Poet Carolyn Finlay has two poetry collections, Giveaway (Stride, 1996) and Foreigner (Waterdog Press, 2001); one illustrated flipbook, Canal; and is working at present on two new collections, The Alienation Fairgrounds, and The Second Time She Drowned. Her poems have been published over the years in many magazines and anthologies in the UK, amongst them Earth Ascending (1997) ed. Jay Ramsay, and Earth Songs (2002).
Ross Cogan
Bohdan Piasecki
Ross has published two collections of poetry with Oversteps Books: Stalin’s Desk (2005) and The Book I Never Wrote (2012). His poetry was described in The Times as ‘tightly crafted, moving and concerned with serious themes’. Ross has won a Gregory Award, among other prizes, and been published in many journals, including Poetry London, PN Review, Stand, The Rialto, Acumen and Orbis. He has a PhD in philosophy and runs a successful business copywriting agency.
Bohdan Piasecki is an acclaimed poet, writer and Programme Coordinator for Apples and Snakes (West Midlands).
Festival Creative Director
Creative Consultant
Bohdan is originally from Poland where he started the first poetry slam series in his country and created a platform for a whole new generation of performers. Bohdan is a highly acclaimed performance poet, who will be performing at Poetry, and all that Jazz on Thursday April 19 at Slak Bar.
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STAND-UP FOR POETRY with Brenda Read-Brown, Jonny Fluffypunk, Fergus McGonigal and Emma Purshouse
The Everyman Other Space Studio. 6.30pm - 7.30pm. £5 Celebrate the start of Cheltenham Poetry Festival with a slam-tastic showcase of cerebrally stimulating stand-up poetry! STAND-UP FOR POETRY features Ledbury favourite Brenda Read-Brown, comic, musician and sustainable nihilist Jonny Fluffypunk, slam-champ Emma Purshouse and wry and witty wordsmith Fergus McGonigal. Jonny Fluffypunk is ‘a comedy colossus’ - The Source Jonny Fluffypunk
TAKE HEART - A CUTTING EDGE LIVE LITERATURE SHOW with Anna Freeman The Everyman Other Space Studio. 7.45pm - 9.00pm. £5
Anna Freeman
Written by a trio of award winning poets and comediennes, TAKE HEART interweaves 3 narratives to create a vivid portrait of the experience of being a young woman in the 21st century. By turns heartrending and hilarious, this is an unmissable live literature experience. Written by and starring Anna Freeman, Liz Greenfield and Rebecca Tantony. Anna Freeman is one of the brightest lights of the South West slam poetry scene. Her poetry is touchingly human, vulnerable and humorous. Anna has won many slams including Bristol Poetry Festival, Latitude Festival and The Seattle Slam and was a finalist in Vancouver’s prestigious Van Slam.
PITCH BLACK POETRY with Miles Cain and Jeremy Toombs Rebecca Tantony
The Everyman Other Space Studio. 9.30pm - 10.30pm. £5 The junk of our lives / will fall inside light years, / racing a crowd of unfinished zeros / to the gap beyond our breath. - Bins. Miles Cain. Step into the dark and illuminate your mind with the dazzling work of writers Miles Cain and Jeremy Toombs. A new and authoritative poetic voice, Miles Cain has been praised for the strength and inventiveness of his work and his collection Border has been described as ‘fast, to the point, full of power’ - Paul Sutherland. He is joined by American poet Jeremy Toombs, whose Ginsbergesque, beatinfused poetry has been described as ‘hypnotic, a wonderful example of the way spoken word can enchant and mesmerise’ - Poetry Café.
Miles Cain
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VOICES with Helen Calcutt and Debra Hannis
The Muffin Man. 12.30pm - 1.30pm. £7/5 What is here / when men ghost the dusk / towards an inward silence / and glance at the trembling rain / at the hill’s lip? - Helen Calcutt
Helen Calcutt
Poet and dancer Helen Calcutt has been described as ‘a distinctive and uncompromising voice’ by Mario Petrucci. Her haunting and elegiac work has been published in many journals and her first collection is due out in 2012. Helen is joined by singer and flautist Debra Hannis who blends traditional English folk with modern influences. Join us to enjoy these two musical voices.
DOMESTIC CHERRY with Michael Scott and Hilda Sheehan
Tailors. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. £5/4 ‘Sharp, eccentric, unexpected, beautiful’ - Myra Schneider
Hilda Sheehan - Domestic Cherry
Domestic Cherry magazine is published once a year as part of The Swindon Festival of Literature and the editors are active throughout the year seizing power through poetry! Their aim is to instigate poetry foolery and fun on buses, in town centres and anywhere the unsuspecting public may be caught unawares. Don’t miss out when this poetic ‘happening’ hits town!
MAB JONES AND HER WELSH RARE-BITS! Slak . 5.30pm - 7.00pm. £5/4 The poet, comedienne and ‘play wrong’ described as ‘absolutely brilliant’ by The Guardian, headlines this mouth-watering feast of Welsh rare-bits! Mab Jones is joined by John Hegley Competition winner Sue Hamblen, slam-champ Nicholas Whitehead and new lit-hop, spoken wordsmith sensation Leeum Johnson. Expect the witty, satirical and saucy to whet your palate – and that’s just for starters... Mab Jones
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EDWARD THOMAS FROM GLOUCESTERSHIRE TO ARRAS Cheltenham College. 6.00pm - 7.00pm. £5/4
Tim Brewis
One of the best loved of the Dymock Poets, Edward Thomas’s reputation remains as high as ever as we approach the centenary of his death. Tim Brewis, Head of English at Cheltenham College and himself a talented poet, has studied Thomas’s work in depth, and in this much-admired talk he offers new insights into his influences and the development of his style. Accessible, thought-provoking and highly recommended.
POETRY, AND ALL THAT JAZZ with Bohdan Piasecki, Martin Daws and guests
Slak. 8.00pm - 10.00pm. £5/4
Bohdan Piasecki
Joy-Amy Wigman
Prepare yourself for the breath-taking brilliance of Polish poet Bohdan Piasecki. Fresh from a tour which took him from London and Madrid to Beijing and Tokyo, Bohdan will be thrilling the Cheltenham Poetry Festival audience with his powerful mix of Polish and English poetry delivered in exhilarating slam style. Double Farrago Slam-champ Martin Daws is an electrifying poet whose live sets blend free musicality and innovative lyricism in unique improvised theatre. Martin received a coveted five star review on debut at the Edinburgh Festival and is the author of the acclaimed book/CD Skin Tight the Sidewalk. Bohdan and Martin are joined by Joy-Amy Wigman (music, mayhem and musings) and Trevor Meaney (witty observational humour and fast and furious delivery).
A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM BLAKE with Jeff Gillett and Elaine Gillett
Meantime. 8.00pm - 9.30pm. £7/5 Once a dream did weave a shade / O’er my angel-guarded bed. - A Dream. William Blake William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience are among the best-loved poems in the English language. But have you ever thought about their musical qualities? A brilliant guitarist and composer, Jeff Gillett, has arranged the poems for voice and guitar, bringing out the poems’ richness and lyrical qualities. Jeff is well known for his ability to ‘get inside’ a song, performing it with genuine feeling, and an understanding of poetry in performance. He is accompanied by singer Elaine Gillett. William Blake
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POETRY CAFÉ SHOWCASE The Muffin Man. 11.00am - 12midday. £5/4 Poetry Café runs each month in Cheltenham. Poets from all over Gloucestershire share their work and offer feedback to other writers. Join us and enjoy a wide range of voices.
THE STROUD PAMPHLET POETS The Muffin Man. 12.30pm - 1.30pm. £7.50 includes lunch We are delighted to welcome Stroud Pamphlet Poets to Cheltenham Poetry Festival this year. An eclectic mix of highly regarded poets, all with different perspectives on life and divergent voices, Stroud Pamphlet Poets are Maria Butunoi, Paul Kelly, Tim Wilson, Judy Newman, Daryl Carpenter, Diana Humphrey. The group is co-ordinated by Rick Vick. The Pamphlet Poets will be launching Issue 1 of Pamphlet 15. The price of the ticket includes a delicious home cooked lunch from The Muffin Man, Cheltenham. (Please see our Venues section for more details.)
CRACKING ON with the GREY HEN PRESS. Featuring Joy Howard
The Frog & Fiddle. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. £5/4 Joy Howard founded Grey Hen Press to celebrate the wit and wisdom of women, particularly older women. Since then her much-praised anthologies, including A Twist of Malice, Cracking On and Get Me Out Of Here! have won huge audiences with their tough, tender, ‘laugh-out-loud’ funny take on modern life. Joy herself has been widely published, and her first collection, Refurbishment, came out in 2011. She will be joined by a couple of special guests. Trust us – this is the pick-me-up your day needs. Joy Howard
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POETRY AND MUSIC with Heather Wastie, Philip Rush and Tina McCausland
Tailors. 3.30pm - 4.30pm. £6/4
Philip Rush
Co-Founder of Brewers’ Troupe and short-listed for Birmingham and Worcestershire Poet Laureates, Heather Wastie has been described as ‘Wendy Cope with added bite’ (Fiesta Festival) and her trademark wry wit and mischievous performance has gained her a huge following. Philip Rush has had poems in many UK and US magazines, and has won the Ledbury Poetry Festival competition. His first full collection - Big Purple Garden Paintings from Yew Tree Press in 2009 - was short-listed for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. 2012 sees a new pamphlet from Garlic Press. Heather and Philip will be joined by singer songwriter Tina McCausland. Escape the school run for an afternoon of poetry, music and amusement.
FERGUS MCGONIGAL AND JOEL DENNO The Muffin Man. 5.00pm - 6.00pm. £5/4 The ingenious, inventive and deliciously irreverent Fergus McGonigal is Worcester Literary Festival’s current Slam Champ. Expect a punchy performance from this drama teacher-come-poet. ‘Fergus hits all the spots other poets fail to reach!’ - Cheltenham Poetry Festival The erudite and extremely funny Joel Denno is a favourite at Poetry Café, Cheltenham. Prepare yourself for darkly amusing poems about alienation, outsiders and his Generation X existential crisis! Joel Denno
PENELOPE SHUTTLE AND ANGELA FRANCE supported by Winston’s Wish
Francis Close Hall. 6.30pm - 7.30pm. £7/5 Described by poet Anne Stevenson as ‘one of the finest writers living in Britain today’, Penelope Shuttle has received acclaim from numerous critics and fellow writers, who have variously described her work as graceful, intuitive, sensuous and buoyant. Penelope has written five acclaimed novels as well as seven poetry collections, her Selected Poems (OUP, 1998) being a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Angela France is the features editor of poetry journal Iota and editor of enzine The Shit Creek Review. She also runs the monthly poetry event Buzzwords. Her work is richly imaginative, finely crafted and complex, whilst remaining joyfully playful. ‘Angela France’s poems are rich, attentive and strange. Weighed by work, open with wonder, they measure their strengths and fly.’ - Alison Brackenbury Penelope Shuttle
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STANZA-UP AND BE COUNTED with Ross Sutherland, Steve Rooney and Sara-Jane Arbury
Cheltenham Town Hall. 7.00pm - 8.15pm. £7/5 STANZA-UP AND BE COUNTED features three stars of the spoken word circuit - comedian and poet Ross Sutherland, multiple slam-champ Steve Rooney and writer and actor Sara-Jane Arbury. The author of three collections of poetry and an acclaimed one man show (The Three Stigma of Pacman) Ross Sutherland has been praised for his ‘free-wheeling lyricism, caustic wit and brilliantly surreal turn of image’ and his ‘refreshingly fearless and bleakly funny’ work - Luke Kennard Steve Rooney is a multiple slam winner, who delivers ironic and witty perspectives from the hard shoulder of life’s motorway. ‘Rooney is hysterical and unforgettable. This is stand-up poetry of a superior class.’ - Earshot
Ross Sutherland
Sara-Jane Arbury is a writer and actor with an eye for the unusual. Published in a variety of publications including Staying Alive by Bloodaxe, Sara-Jane brings you quirky, witty and poignant poetry.
WHISTLE BY MARTIN FIGURA Francis Close Hall. 8.30pm - 9.30pm. £7/5 ‘Profoundly honest and at the same time joyfully entertaining’, according to the Independent on Sunday, Martin Figura’s widely acclaimed stage show, centered around the death of his mother at the hands of his father when he was nine, has received a received a wealth of rave reviews and was short-listed for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work. He won the Poetry Society’s 2010 Hamish Canham Prize. Whistle is full of insight, drama and gentle humour and combines its profound and moving script with image, archive and original materials in beautiful and imaginative visuals.
Martin Figura
Whistle received a standing ovation at Ledbury Poetry Festival, and has been described as an ‘unforgettable’ experience. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy it here at Cheltenham Poetry Festival.
CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL SLAM! Cheltenham Town Hall. 9.00pm - 10.45pm. £7/5 Four teams, comprised of the hottest names in performance poetry and led by celeb slammers Jonny Fluffypunk, Amy Rainbow, Spoz, and Fergus McGonigal, go head-to-head for the prestigious Cheltenham Poetry Festival cup! Get ready for a fast and furious battle of words where every second counts. Come along and cheer on your favourite team or simply sit back and gasp at the gravity-defying verbal acrobatics, and dazzling flights of poetic fancy! Amy Rainbow
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FOOTBALL POETRY The Exmouth. 11.00am - 12midday. £5/3 Popular football poet Gary Steer shares his work celebrating the beautiful game.
LOVE POETRY Waterstones. 11.00am - 12midday. FREE Popular local poets Will Humphreys and Michael Wilson present their very different takes on love, and loss. The event includes an open mic session, bring your own poems to share.
IMAGIST POETRY WORKSHOP Tailors. 11.00am - 12.30pm. £14/7 Faber Prize winning poet, member of Domestic Cherry and the Blue Gate Poets, Michael Scott teaches this inspiring and enlightening workshop, in which you will be taught how to write evocative and finely crafted imagist poetry. Places are limited so book early.
Michael Scott
Michael Wilson
CAROLYN FINLAY AND JENNIE FARLEY The Exmouth. 12.30pm - 1.30pm. £5/3 Cheltenham Poetry Festival director Carolyn Finlay is the author of two poetry collections, and editor of one anthology. Her finely-crafted poetry is rich in luminous imagery. Her forthcoming collections The Alienation Fairgrounds and The Second Time She Drowned offer a sustained reflection upon the disjunctions between humans and the lands they inhabit, the indigenous and the newcomers, the loneliness of love and losing and finding of place and meaning. ‘A way with language that is at once precise and sensuous’. - Lindsay Clarke
Carolyn Finlay
Award winning poet Jennie Farley has published short fiction for both adults and children. Her poetry has been published in magazines such as Poetry Review, New Welsh Review, Poetry Oxford and Writing Women. Her poetry is richly imaginative, full of fantasy and narrative and has been described by the poet U.A. Fanthorpe as ‘full of imagination, skill and daring ... with the power to convey an idea in a few lines with startling visual imagery’. Jennie will be reading from her new collection Masks and Feathers.
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MATTHEW BARTON - Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks Meantime. 12.30pm - 1.30pm. £5/4
Matthew Barton
Matthew Barton has received a wide variety of awards, among them the title BBC Wildlife Poet of the Year, as well as publishing two collections. Here he gives us a selection of his poems on the theme of the natural world. There will also be readings from some of the classic nature poets, and an opportunity for audience members to read their own poems on the theme of animals and nature.
PHILIP RUSH AND MARK BLAYNEY STUART Waterstones. 1.00pm - 2.30pm. FREE Philip Rush is a popular and highly regarded poet whose first collection was short-listed for the Aldeburgh prize. His poems have been published in a wide variety of magazines, including, most recently The North and Brittle Star. Mark Blayney Stuart won the Somerset Maugham Prize for Two Kinds of Silence. He’s been profiled on BBC4 and in The Guardian and has published poems and stories in The London Magazine, Poetry Wales and The Interpreter’s House. As a performer he’s a UK Slam Finalist, has represented Wales at national level and is a John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry finalist. Mark Blayney Stuart
Philip and Mark are joined by poet, pianist and creative writing tutor Avril Staple.
CLIFF YATES AND ANNA SAUNDERS The Exmouth. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. £5/3 Described as ‘one of our best poets’ by Peter Sansom, Cliff Yates has won many awards for his poetry including the Aldeburgh First Collection prize and the Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet competition. His most recent collection is Frank Freeman’s Dancing School (Salt). He is the author of the acclaimed Jumpstart Poetry in the Secondary School (Poetry Society).
Cliff Yates
‘Cliff Yates is one of my favourite poets, writing in an idiom I’d like to call ‘Skelmersdale Mystic/Domestic’. If he was in a band that band would produce hit singles that would linger in your head for years and if he was a greengrocer his vegetables would always be startling shapes. There’s childhood here, and love, and a way of seeing the world with the wrappers off that is, ultimately, Yatesian.’ - Ian McMillan Cheltenham Poetry Festival Executive Director and founder Anna Saunders’ first collection was praised for its ‘lush imagery and music’ - Nigel McLoughlin. Anna will be reading from Communion and from her forthcoming second collection. ‘Moving poems of flesh and spirit, from “ears...finely tuned”.’ - Alison Brackenbury
Anna Saunders
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PERFECTLY PERFORMED Music, Comedy and Poetry from Cheltenham Poetry Festival Guests
The Brewery. 2.00pm - 4.00pm. FREE A smorgasbord of delicious spoken word morsels with Jack Dean – MC, poet and slam-champ. Jack won the Cheltenham Science Festival Slam in 2011. Michael Wilson – multi slam winner whose lyrical and punchy work freewheels around the subject of sex, drugs and rock and roll! Will Humphreys – hauntingly romantic poetry with a bite. Gary Steer – locally based football poet. Joy-Amy Wigman – darkly amusing observations on love and life. Jack Dean
HELEN IVORY AND BOBBY PARKER The Muffin Man. 3.30pm - 4.30pm. £5/3 Deliciously playful, frequently surreal and opulent with imagery, Helen Ivory’s poetry is dazzling. Helen is the author of three poetry collections with Bloodaxe – The Double Life of Clocks, The Dog in the Sky and her latest The Breakfast Machine. ‘Puts one in mind of the darker side of Stevie Smith who said that poetry “is a strong explosion in the sky”. “The Breakfast Machine” is such an explosion in the sky of contemporary poetry.’ - Penelope Shuttle Helen Ivory
‘Quite exquisite… vision, instinct and frayed edgy experience playing it dead straight.’ - George Szirtes Bobby Parker was selected as Small Press Poet of the Year in Purple Patch magazine, and is a highly regarded new voice in poetry. Forceful and unique, and his authentic and raw voice has been compared to American poet Charles Bukowski. A great chance to hear this exciting new poet.
Poetry Jukebox with Nine Arches Press Luke Kennard, Daniel Sluman and Phil Brown
The Exmouth. 5.00pm - 6.00pm. £6/4 Nine Arches Press presents a poetry reading with a unique twist: the audience has a hand in choosing the themes of the poems. So prepare for work that touches on the big issues, and some of the little ones too – everything from love, death and madness to laughter, losing and being drunk...! This promises to be a show full of surprises, with three poets who are among the most striking voices in contemporary British poetry. Luke Kennard
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THE SOUND OF TRAGEDY with Cheltenham Improvisers Orchestra
Meantime. 5.00pm - 6.00pm. £4/3
The Sound Of Tragedy
Join the Cheltenham Improvisers Orchestra in an epic adventure of poetry, film and sound. From happiness to hubris, via crass, cathartic catastrophe, come celebrate the little history of disaster!
CARCANET PRESS POETS with PJ Kavanagh, Alison Brackenbury, Dan Burt Francis Close Hall. 6.30pm - 8.00pm. £6/4 ‘Simply one of the best literary publishers in the world’, according to Charles Simic, Carcanet Press presents three unique poetic voices. Alison Brackenbury, who has been delighting audiences for years with her ‘quiet lyricism’ (The Guardian) is joined by American-born poet Dan Burt, whose ‘strikingly ambitious’ (PN Review) and formally stunning poetry is widely admired, and poet, novelist, columnist, lecturer, broadcaster, actor – and local legend – PJ Kavanagh. ‘Who will steal me to the dark beyond the need / of light to read and this damned rage to speak?’ - Dodge Ball. Dan Burt. Alison Brackenbury
We guarantee a breathtaking reading.
UNDER STOKES CROFT - A LIVE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Jack Dean with Michael Wilson Cheltenham Town Hall. 6.00pm - 7.15pm. £7/5 A live graphic novel with stop-motion animation by MC and poet Jack Dean. Unknown to most, there is a large, clumsy, furry monster living in Stokes Croft. By day he watches over their people and records their stories. By night he wanders alone and paints their dreams. Under Stokes Croft takes inspiration from Dylan Thomas’s legendary Under Milk Wood to document 24 hours in the life of Bristol’s own Bohemia, centering around the infamous night of the Tesco Riots. Michael Wilson is a multi-slam winner whose titles include the 2010 Cheltenham Festival of Literature slam. His exhilarating and richly musical writing freestyles around the subject of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ dole. ‘All the lyricism of Dylan Thomas, all the bite of Simon Armitage.’ - Poetry Café Under Stokes Croft
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DIZRAELI
AND THE SMALL GODS with Clayton Blizzard and Simplistic Scientists Dizraeli
Clayton Blizzard
Sponsored by Simplistic Scientists
DIZRAELI AND THE SMALL GODS are a 7-piece band from England, playing a folked, melodic, unashamedly heartfelt reinvention of Hip-Hop. With their touchingly funny stories of riots, atheism and Englishness, through folk, rap, spoken word and hymns, Dizraeli and the Small Gods embody 21st century Folk. ‘UK Hip-Hop has not seen anything like this before.’ - Certified Banger Supported by Clayton Blizzard – ‘Ultra witty acoustic Hip-Hop and political songs of the people’ (Fact Fans), and roots Hip-Hop, spoken word collective Simplistic Scientists.
9.00pm
Cheltenham Town Hall 13
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£12/£8
0844 576 2210
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WORCESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL SHOWCASE The Frog and Fiddle. 11.00am - 12midday. ÂŁ5/3 Worcestershire Literary Festival celebrates all things artistic and runs from - June 15th to June 24th this year. Martin Driscoll brings a posse of his favourite poets to Cheltenham. Featuring Midlands sexiest gothic poetess Suzi Winspear, the legendary Theo Theobald Worcester Poet Laureate, the urban and edgy Mstr Morrison and the wonderful Martin himself! Mstr Morrison
MINING THE WORD HOARD A Potted History of Word Creation in Poetry
Tailors. 12.30pm - 1.30pm. ÂŁ5/4 Giles Goodland is not just an internationally renowned poet, author of numerous books and winner of various competitions. He also works in Oxford as a lexicographer. In this entertaining and enlightening talk, he takes us on a tour of the history of word-creation and neologism in poetry, from Old English to the present day. Whether you want to explore the limits of word-creation in your own poetry, or just want to be amused, this is for you. Giles Goodland
POETRY IN STORE with James Bunting Waterstones. 1.30pm - 2.30pm. FREE POETRY IN STORE offers you an alternative to the Sunday roast, with a feast of poetic talent. James Bunting is a rising star on the performance poetry scene. The victor at the recent Stroud Slam, he has already won wide acclaim for his thought-provoking and evocative narrative poetry. With a powerful voice and charismatic delivery, James offers heartfelt stories and poignant musings that captivate and enchant his audience. James is joined by Catherine Crosswell, a prolific and hugely talented poet who has supported John Cooper Clarke and was runner up for the Worcestershire Bard. Poet Andrew Owen will also be sharing his work at Poetry in Store. James Bunting
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DUMB MESSENGERS with Giles Goodland and Ross Cogan
Tailors. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. £5/4 He might have heard the knife working its stone, the blade’s argument against the soft faith/of flesh, the disquisition mapping his limbs,/the whirring buzz-saw hum of the mind of God. - Ross Cogan. Giles Goodland
Giles Goodland is ‘a world-class poet’ (Peter Finch). His latest book, The Dumb Messengers, explores the difficulty of communicating, in life and poetry. ‘Broken or failed poems are often the most eloquent – like those rockets that don’t make it into space but explode beautifully’, he writes. The author of the acclaimed Stalin’s Desk, Cheltenham Poetry Festival Director Ross Cogan’s work has been described as ‘tightly crafted, moving and concerned with serious themes’ -The Times. His work is complex yet accessible, full of haunting narratives and dazzling feats of metaphor and imagery. There is also an open mic, so bring your own beautiful rockets.
Ross Cogan
POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP with Jennie Farley The Frog and Fiddle. 2.00pm - 3.30pm. £10/7 Fire up your creativity at this inspiring poetry writing workshop with acclaimed writer and tutor Jennie Farley. Jennie Farley has taught Creative Writing for over 20 years at the University of Gloucestershire and her poetry has been published in poetry magazines such as Poetry Review, New Welsh Review, Poetry Oxford, and Writing Women. Suitable for writers of all levels of experience.
THE BARD OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE Peter Wyton plus support
Waterstones. 3.00pm - 3.45pm. FREE Peter Wyton is the effervescent and permanently inspired Breakfast Bard on BBC Radio Gloucestershire. A popular and acclaimed wordsmith, his poetry appears every month in Cotswold Life. His poems have also appeared on BBC Radio’s Poetry Please and Something Understood as well as in the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Daily Express. We promise you will be tickled pink by his poetry. Peter Wyton
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OWEN
SHEERS
Sponsored by
On the publication of Skirrid Hill, Carol Ann Duffy described Owen Sheers as ‘one of the most exciting new talents around’. The Welsh poet, author, scriptwriter, presenter (and Patron of Cheltenham Poetry Festival) has now published two poetry collections, a novel – Resistance, this year made into a film, for which he also wrote the script – a novella and a number of plays. He is also known and admired as the author and presenter of A Poet’s Guide to Britain. We are delighted to welcome him to Cheltenham Poetry Festival to read a new work. Come and meet Owen at what will be one of the most talked-about events of the festival.
3.30pm - 4.30pm
Cheltenham College 16
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£7/£5
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CHARLES TOMLINSON - A MASTER OF HIS CRAFT The Frog and Fiddle. 5.00pm - 6.00pm. £5/4
Michael Schmidt has described Charles Tomlinson ‘a man at home in many languages and on every continent, a poet devoted to the pastoral and at the same time continually engaged with world Modernism in many forms and languages’. For Donald Hall, meanwhile, he is ‘master of his craft... his poems have the finality of form which you find only among the first rate’.
Charles Tomlinson
Come and celebrate the life and work of a local poet of international importance, with readings by his family and others.
ADAM HOROVITZ AND HELEN MORT The Frog and Fiddle. 6.30pm - 7.30pm. £5/4 Adam Horovitz’s elegiac and lyrical voice is beginning to gain him a strong following. His latest collection Turning shifts between past and present, the landscapes of his childhood and the modern day. ‘Adam Horovitz writes poems of great beauty and truth; poems which are earned through experience, suffering and love and deployed in a physical language of scrupulous integrity. He is the real deal.’ - Carol Ann Duffy Helen is five-times winner of the Foyle Young Poets award, she received an Eric Gregory Award from The Society of Authors in 2007 and won the Manchester Young Writer Prize in 2008. In 2010, she became the youngest ever Poet in Residence at The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere.
OCCUPY POETRY - FINAL NIGHT PARTY! with Monkey Poet, Ash Dickinson and guests
Slak. 7.00pm - Late. £5 Join our intrepid spoken word squatters for a rabble-rousing night of riotous comedy, poetry and music! With Monkey Poet, Ash Dickinson, Chris Fordwoh and guest DJs.
Monkey Poet
Think Bill Hicks meets Mark Thomas, with a dash of rhyme, and you’ve got Monkey Poet. Hard hitting, hysterical and slightly disturbing, Monkey Poet delivers satiric stand-up in rhyme at its best. Multiple slam champion Ash Dickinson has been nicknamed ‘the Axl Rose of Poetry’ for his wild and wildly entertaining sets. ‘Ash Dickinson is a Performance Poet for the Lost Generation. If you haven’t seen him, you haven’t seen performance poetry.’ - Federation of Writers (Scotland) Rapper Chris Fordwoh whipped his audience into a frenzy when he was the front man of the Prodigy-esque 90’s superband Smak Daddi, and his solo show fuses rap, poetry and comedy in a unique and brain-abusing mix! With DJs including Brown Torpedo’s Dan Cooper. Get ready for an anarchic night of revolutionary amusement!
Ash Dickinson
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CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS OUT OF THE DEPTHS An Evening of Poetry and Music Wednesday 18th April. Highbury Congregational Church. 7.00pm - 8.45pm. Free Highbury Congregational Church welcomes Festival-goers to an evening of poetry and music presented by the Poetry Society of Cheltenham. Society members will read poems from John Donne, George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins and others as well as exploring contemporary responses to the same issues in their poetry.
CHELTENHAM POETRY SOCIETY presents Sex, Love and Death Thursday 19th April. The Muffin Man. 11.00am - 12midday. £5/3 What have some of the finest poets in Gloucestershire to say about sex, love and death? Now is your chance to find out when writers from Cheltenham Poetry Society present a showcase of work inspired by these momentous themes.
Leeum Johnson plus support Friday 20th April. Waterstones. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. FREE Winner of the audience vote at the John Tripp Award for spoken poetry, Leeum Johnson is a rising star of the Cardiff Slam circuit and gaining a following for his richly imaginative, witty and cerebral poetry. Leeum is joined by local poet Nick Short.
Leeum Johnson
JOHN HEGLEY Join John at Yate Library for a Children’s Workshop and evening performance.
An evening with John Hegley Friday April 20. From 7.30pm. £5 / £2.50
(£2.50 for Members of South Gloucestershire Library). John will also be joined by his sister, the poet Angela Arnold.
Children’s Poetry Workshop Saturday April 21. From 10.30am. £5 / £2.50 (£2.50 for Members of South Gloucestershire Library). Suitable for ages 5 years + For more details and booking/reservations call Yate Library on 01454 868006 John Hegley
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CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS
PULP DICTION Saturday 21st April. 2 Pigs. 8.00pm - 10.30pm (doors open at 7.45pm). £5
If music be the food of love, then poetry is the topping that makes it tasty. PULP DICTION brings you, by Royale appointment (with cheese), the tastiest poets and musicians in a fat feast of tasty treats. So, get ready to grind your teeth and lick your lips at… Barnaby Eaton-Jones: ‘Bard of the Brewery’ and chin-beard aficionado. Dan Parker: A darkly comic maelstrom of talent and introverted extrovert. Catherine Crosswell: A teller of lyrical tales and a tickler of the funniest bones. Amy Rainbow & Gary Longden: A bickering doubleact of poetry one-upmanship; both published poets and lyrical lovelies to boot. The Floor Spots: More enigmatic and elusive than this description allows. Martin Vogwell: The best kind of storytelling folk. Four Tart Harmony: A unique treat of musical feats. Dotty, Bakewell, Bossy and Dusty perform acapella renditions of Eurythmics, The Kinks, Ray Charles, James Brown, Buddy Holly, and much more.
Cheltenham Poetry Festival
Children’s Slam!
CHILDREN’S POETRY
Thursday 19th April. Cheltenham Town Hall. 7.00pm - 8.45pm (doors open at 7.45pm). £5/3
Sunday 22nd April. Waterstones. 3.00pm - 4.00pm. FREE
Watch teams of budding poets from schools across the county go head to head in a X-Factor style battle of rhyme and reason! Hosted by Birmingham Poet Laureate Spoz.
Spoz
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Join us for a reading from two popular children’s poets - Francis Axton and Miki Byrne.
0844 576 2210
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CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS
FREE CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS All our workshops and readings are absolutely free. Suitable for children of any age and no need to book!
IT’S RHYME FOR A STORY
Saturday 21st April. The Brewery. 11.00am - 12midday. FREE Poet, actor and comedian and Bard of the Brewery Barnaby Eaton-Jones leads this inspiring and entertaining children’s workshop in which participating children discuss ideas for plots, characters, structure and then create an epic tale, like ‘Beowulf’, which is performed in rhyme – with each child taking a verse each in the telling.
THE MONSTER WRITING GAME
Saturday 21st April. The Brewery. 1.00pm - 2.00pm. FREE Poet and teacher Sarah Snell–Pym offers this fun-filled and literacy enhancing workshop for children of all ages. Sarah’s workshops went down a storm at Wychwood Festival and we are delighted to welcome her back to Cheltenham Poetry Festival for more poetic play!
A TIME TO RHYME
Saturday 21st April. Waterstones. 2.00pm - 3.00pm. FREE Join little minx Joy-Amy Wigman for some creative fun in this free children’s workshop. Suitable for children of any age.
FREE CHILDREN’S POETRY SHOWCASE with Miki Byrne and Francis Axton
Saturday 21st April. Waterstones. 3.00pm - 4.00pm. FREE The very best in children’s poetry from local authors Miki Byrne and Francis Axton.
POETRY BEES
Sunday 22nd April. The Brewery. 12midday - 1.00pm. FREE Join us for free creative fun and frolics with Sarah Snell-Pym and the POETRY BEES. A creative writing and craft workshop for children of any age.
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Tel: 0844 576 2210
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Cheltenham Town Hall Imperial Square Cheltenham GL50 1QA
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The Exmouth Arms 167 Bath Road Cheltenham GL53 7LX
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Tel: 01242 528149
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Francis Close Hall Chapel Swindon Road Cheltenham GL50 4AZ
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Slak Bar 16 Bath Place Cheltenham GL50 1YE
(Parking Entrances Sandford Road and Thirlestane Road)
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Tel: 01242 524011
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Tel: 01242 532753
Cheltenham College Bath Road Cheltenham GL53 7LD Tel: 01242 265600
info@meantime.org.uk
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Meantime Oxford Passage off St Margaret’s Road Cheltenham GL50 4EF
The Everyman Theatre Also: The Other Space Studio Regent Street Cheltenham GL50 1HQ Tel: 01242 572 573
Tailors Pub 4 Cambray Place Cheltenham GL50 1JS
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Tel: 01242 255453
The Muffin Man Ltd 3 Crescent Terrace Cheltenham GL50 3PE Tel: 01242 228989
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The Frog and Fiddle 313-315 High Street Cheltenham GL50 3HW Tel: 01242 701156
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Waterstones 33-41 The Promenade Cheltenham GL50 1LE Tel: 0843 2908227
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The Brewery Henrietta Street Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL50 4FA Tel: 01242 574378
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