Winchester Poetry Festival has announced a ‘stretched’ festival for 2021 comprising a five-month programme of workshops, readings and discussion events culminating in a weekend of live events in October.
The summer line-up, which started on Friday 11th June, aims to bring people together to explore writing, expression and its powerful impact on wellbeing.
Events will explore journaling techniques and writing in prose and including looking into some of the work that will be performed at the Festival. Rising stars such as Jen Hadfield, Raymond Antrobus and Jericho Brown and Joyelle Sweeney from the USA, will all be involved in conversations and readings.
This year’s Robert Hutchison Lecture will be given by Professor Will May, on the relationship between Sylvia Plath and Stevie Smith, and will feature readings by Juliet Stevenson.
The three-day live weekend is planned to take place from 8th to 10h October at the Winchester Discovery Centre, with a line-up including familiar events such as Things Being Various featuring outstanding Irish poet and Professor of Poetry Paul Muldoon.
There will be readings and performances by the remarkable poets Liz Berry, Patience Agbabi and Romalyn Ante as well as Hampshire Poet Kathryn Bevis and Winchester Muse.
Running alongside the 2021 programme, the Festival will run its Poet on the High Street residency.