Ledbury Poetry Festival  2011

http://www.poetry-festival.com/

1 – 10 July 2011

‘A rare and genuine joining of place, poetry and people’  Carol Ann Duffy – Poet Laureate and Festival Patron

‘Ten days each summer when the air is thick with declaration and rumination, whispers and shouts of joy’  Joan Bakewell

‘The best in the country’ Andrew Motion

Britain’s biggest poetry festival brings together an extraordinary collection of poets from across the world in an explosive celebration of contemporary poetry.

Poetry has seen a resurgence of energy over the last few years, a fusing of traditional craft with newer rhythms and street sounds which bring a real vitality to stage performance. Ledbury’s 2011 programme brings the very best in poetry from across the spectrum, and encompasses readings, special performances, workshops, walks, talks, films, poetry slams, an interactive poetic murder mystery evening, and open mic events.

The 2011 festival is launched by Poet Laureate and Ledbury Patron Carol Ann Duffy. Joining her on the opening night will be acclaimed musician, composer and actor John Sampson. Their collaborations have been termed the perfect example of the symbiosis of poetry and music, and will set the bar high for the rest of the festival.

Other highlights of the programme feature the most important voices in UK poetry, including Jo Shapcott, Penelope Shuttle, Michael Rosen, John Hegley and Jackie Kay.

The 2011 Poet-in-Residence at the Festival, Ian Duhig, who has in recent years been shortlisted for the TS Eliot, Whitbread and Forward Poetry Prizes will be performing and holding special workshops. Duhig is one of the best of the New Generation poets, with a rare ability to handle subject matter as diverse as Apollinaire to Yorkshire pudding, from string vests to sutras. He has a particular gift for ignoring barriers between subjects, and his poems are often powerfully gritty.

As the UK’s most important international poetry festival, Ledbury 2011 has a special focus on translation, questioning whether an artform that places exacting emphasis on words and rhythm can be successfully translated. Our Publishers-in-residence, Arc Publications, are champions of poetry in translation. Does US poet Robert Frost’s maxim ‘Poetry is what is lost in translation’ still hold true, or in today’s world where global communication is the norm, are there instances where the slippages, the mis-readings and fractures of translation can even enhance the work? What happens when one poet translates another poet’s work? And can a poem be transposed from one culture to another?

Highlights of this strand of the programme sees acclaimed poet Penelope Shuttle reading her own work along side the Syrian poet Maram al-Massri, who will read in Arabic with translations performed by Sara-Jane Arbury. The international programme includes poets from Hungary, India, Syria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

And this year’s special Festival Commission comes from the ancient city of Lahore, a series of contemporary poems from Fetch Theatre, in a brand new production that brings Lahore and the Punjab to Ledbury.

For younger poetry lovers Ledbury the extremely hip and witty John Hegley will be performing in The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet. Telling the story of a Frenchman, with some unusual habits in 17 adventures and one short drama each presented in French and English, with participation a must.

Michael Rosen will also be appearing in a performance of rhyme, rhythm, and chat, meeting the three-year-old who was looking for someone who wanted to be a sandwich.

The Festival ends with a performance by The Joy of Six. An ensemble performance by poets including Ann Berkeley and Ted Hughes Award nominee, Martin Figura in a choreographed interplay of voices and styles that will leave you breathless. Termed an exciting and quick fire montage of contrasting poems and voices by Chairman of the Poetry Society, The Joy of Six is a fitting finale to the 2011 Festival.