Bristol is going to have a new poetry festival! ‘Lyra’ has received Arts Council England funding to showcase the best of poetry in the Bristol area in March 2019. ‘Lyra’ will bring outstanding UK poets to Bristol, introduce new audiences to live poetry and bring those interested in poetry to the city.
‘Lyra’ will include spoken word and poetry features, a poetry slam, a showcase of Laureate’s choice poets, panel discussions, a poetry film screening, family events and masterclasses.
The festival has been organised by local spoken word poet, Danny Pandolfi, and Bath Spa University Reader in Creative Writing and Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow, Lucy English. Bristol poet, Tom Sastry will be the poet in residence and will run professional development workshops, open mic readings and discussions.
The festival will reflect the diversity of the city. It is an exciting programme, with a mixture of local talent as well as acclaimed poets from around the country. Existing poetry nights in Bristol are also featured in the programme and there will be full schedule of activities running right through March with the core events happening from 20-24th.
Festival poets include Bristol Poet Laureate Vanessa Kisuule, Jo Bell, Harry Baker, Shruti Chauhan, Stephen Lightbown, Olivia Gatwood, award winning writer Anthony Anaxagorou,
For more information on the full schedule of events and details on how to book tickets or a festival pass, please visit the Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival website