Ledbury Poetry Festival looks forward to a ten-day programme this summer, 30th June – 9th July, with announcement of first ever Guest Curator.
Stephanie Sy-Quia is a writer and printmaker based in London. Her debut Amnion (Granta Poetry) has received an Eric Gregory Award, a Somerset Maugham Award, and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. She is a Ledbury Poetry Critic.
Chloe Garner, Artistic Director, says “I am thrilled to welcome the Forward Prize-winning poet and Ledbury Critic Stephanie Sy-Quia as Ledbury Poetry Festival’s first ever Guest Curator. I can’t wait to see what fresh discoveries and possibilities she will present to audiences.”
Ledbury Poetry Festival presents a sparkling array of live and online events this summer. This hybrid Festival celebrates coming together in-person, whilst maintaining the wide, and international, reach online events achieved during the last few years. The full programme will be announced in April 2023.
Stephanie Sy-Quia, Guest Curator says: “Ledbury is such a fantastic home for poetry, and I want people to leave at festival’s end and feel that poetry is a form that can be carried out with them, an invigorating force that belongs everywhere. I also want to foster good relationships with many of the artists who live locally, and invite them into the process as a way of celebrating poetry as a form that leaps across many different disciplines.”
Ledbury Poetry Critics
In 2017 Ledbury Poetry Critics launched its first year-long intensive mentorship programme, recruiting 12 critics of colour, and has been responsible for increasing the visibility of poets and critics of colour. There are now over 35 critics within the programme founded by Sandeep Parmar and Sarah Howe with support from Ledbury Poetry. Ledbury Poetry Critics introduce and chair events at Ledbury Poetry Festival this year. Full information on the programme can be found here: www.ledburypoetry.org.uk/home/ledbury-poetry-critics
The Full Programme for Summer 2023 will be available in April 2023: www.ledburypoetry.org.uk
If you would like to speak with Chloe Garner, Director, or Stephanie Sy-Quia, Guest Curator please contact Becky Shaw on production@ledburypoetry.org.uk
Notes to Editors
Inclusive, International, Inspirational
Ledbury Poetry creates live and online programmes throughout the year culminating in Ledbury Poetry Festival each July. Now in its 27th year, it is the largest and most international celebration of poetry and spoken word in Britain making Ledbury the home of poetry in the UK.
Ledbury Poetry has moved to The Barrett Browning Institute in Ledbury. Our new home is a hive of activity and welcomes visitors to explore exhibitions during the Festival. Ledbury Poetry House also hosts the Box Office and a Bookshop.
Ledbury Poetry Player ensures that events are available for everyone around the world to enjoy.
Ledbury Poetry Competition runs annually. The Judge for 2022 is Joelle Taylor, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize. Prizes include £1,000 and a week’s poetry course with our partner, Arvon. The winner will be announced on 25th January 2023.
Ledbury Poetry Salons, Workshops, and Masterclasses are delivered live and online throughout the year. Look for programmes on our What’s On page.
Ledbury Poetry Learning projects include work in schools, weekly youth meetings, the ‘Crucial Creators’ and learning opportunities for 16-25 year olds, as well as volunteering training and opportunities for all ages – all of which develop and enhance Ledbury as the Town of Poetry.
For further information about Ledbury Poetry please contact Becky Shaw: production@ledburypoetry.org.uk
facebook /ledburyfest twitter @ledburypoetry Instagram ledburypoetry
