never knowingly without a pen
Leafing through the jottings in my Winchester Poetry Festival notebook, I see that I wrote down some of the comments Sinéad Morrissey made, before she read amazing poems, all new work, from her next collection (out in 2017). "We're in a toxic revolution," the poet said, referring to the Northern Ireland Department of Arts and Culture being replaced by… Continue reading Home thoughts about Winchester Poetry Festival
Talking to people after the festival, many have mentioned the Sunday readings by Inua Ellams, Sarah Howe and Kei Miller as one of their highlights. These three major poets are all associated with The Complete Works, a national development programme for advanced Black and Asian poets. Who could have failed to be blown away by Inua… Continue reading The Complete Works at Winchester Poetry Festival
There have been so many outstanding readings at the festival, it would take me until the end of the year to tell you about them in detail. I'll write some more when I'm back at home but for now, here are some things poets have said which I've liked enough to record in my notebook. I… Continue reading Winchester Poetry Festival: Photos and snippets
Day Two of Winchester Poetry Festival started in the Children's Library at Winchester Discovery Centre. MPT Editor Sasha Dugdale and Access consultant Shelley Boden ran a session which introduced children to poetry (for children) in translation, "Poems from different countries can tell you things in a different way," Sasha told the young participants. "When you read… Continue reading Winchester Poetry Festival Diary: What isn’t translation?
Kim Moore, Ian Duhig and Sophie Hannah gave wonderful readings on the opening night of the festival. It really is a pleasure to hear poems you think you know quite well read aloud. Even if you've read them many times in magazines, websites, in collections and at award evenings, something surprising and new often turns… Continue reading Winchester Poetry Festival Diary: Day One (Part Two).
So here I am, safely installed in a delightful airbnb very close to the centre of Winchester. I have a Festival Pass in my hands and I'm going to make the most of it. I'll report back, in between attending events, starting with a few things I went to yesterday. The opening event was a… Continue reading Winchester Poetry Festival Diary: Day One (Part One)
Judge of the Winchester Poetry Prize Mimi Khalvati has selected a longlist of 22 poems which has been published on Winchester Poetry Festival's website. The winners will be announced at a special prize-giving event at the festival on Sunday 9 October 2016. Tickets for this event are free and can be booked via the Winchester Discovery… Continue reading Winchester Poetry Prize – Longlist announced
I'm really pleased that Modern Poetry in Translation magazine is a festival partner of Winchester Poetry Festival, and will be in residence at the festival, which is only weeks away. MPT has emailed subscribers details of some festival readings and events they've been working on so I thought I'd share them with you. I hope you'll be… Continue reading Modern Poetry in Translation at Winchester Poetry Festival, 7 – 9 October 2016
While I was at All Day Sonnets in Winchester last Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting poet, actor, and professional voice coach Kate Firth who will be running a Performance Skills Workshop at the Poetry Festival on Saturday, 8 October. Somewhat pressed for time, and thinking about my 'what's in your bag/pocket' series, I… Continue reading Meeting Kate Firth
Josephine Corcoran 