It’s a great festival, packed with talent; exciting, edgy and unmissable.

Check out events and book tickets here

I’ve gone ‘Wild’ and booked early for some events/workshops. More nearer the time.

• First event is the launch of Festival Director Anna Saunders‘ new collection Feverfew from Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd
• 
  Festival Director Anna Saunders and Charlie Baylis
  
  Anna is also a workshop leader and excellent poet. She champions both established and new poets. I’ve benefited from her workshops and had several poems published as a result. She’s lauded as:

‘a poet of quite remarkable gifts’ Bernard O’Donoghue

Anna’s reading with Charlie Baylis who is a Pushcart Prize and Forward Prize nominee and Poetry Editor of Review 31 and Assistant Editor of Broken Sleep Books.

• Next event I’ve booked is the ‘Indi-Go Wild Showcase from Indigo Dreams’
  Ronnie Goodyer  &  Dawn Bauling
  Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd eds. 
  

‘Indigo Dreams is an award-winning publisher renowned for beautifully produced poetry collections from new and established writers. Join us for one of the legendary (and usually sell-out) Indigo Showcases, featuring four exciting poets’

It will feature: co-director Ronnie Goodyer , co-director Dawn Bauling, Louisa Adjoa Parker and Jenny Mitchell.

I have read many of their poets and enjoy their work and the IDP readings.

• Angela France and Penelope Shuttle 

  
  Angela France                                    Penelope Shuttle

Dr. Angela France – is senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Gloucestershire and widely-published poet. Her recent collection The Hill  is published by Nine Arches Press. (This is an excellent press). She’s an brilliant tutor and I’ve attended her workshops and will be pleased to rejoin them this year.

Penelope Shuttle – is a multi-award winning poet and novelist – Eric Gregory Award, Greenwood Poetry Prize, Cholmondley Award and Shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize and the T. S. Eliot Prize. I am very excited to hear her read!

• ‘An Evening with Carol Ann Duffy and Friends’ 

  
  Carol Ann Duffy – U.K. Poet Laureate (2009-2019)Carol Ann was a U.K. Poet Laureate and is Professor and Creative Director of the Manchester Metropolitan University’s Writing School. I enjoy her work and have seen her read before but it’s always excellent.

  She’ll be reading with poets that I haven’t seen before: writer and poet, Keith Hutson, poet, writer and playwright Mark Pajak and award-winning poet Ella Duffy. So I’m excited to hear all three.

• ‘Dear Dylan – A Tribute to Dylan Thomas with Special Guests Hannah Ellis and Roy McFarlane’ 

  I’m really looking forward to this event, especially as the great poet Dylan Thomas’ granddaughter Hannah Ellis will be:

‘offering a very personal insight into the life, soul and creative genius of this much-loved poet’.

Hannah Ellis, granddaughter of Dylan Thomas.

Hannah will be talking about her favourite of her grandfather’s poems, as will the Indigo Dreams Press poet, Roy McFarlane.

Roy McFarlane

I’ve also booked for two exciting poetry workshops –

Graham Burchill and Rosie Jackson Workshop: Beyond the Frame

Rosie Jackson                        Graham Burchill

This will be a workshop based on art so I presume will involve writing ekphrastic poetry. I enjoy using prompts such as this, so it should be really good.

Carrie Etter Workshop – Where Are You From? Selfhood, Place and Prose Poetry.

Carrie Etter

I’ve read Carrie’s collection Imagined Sons and loved it and I saw her read it at an earlier CPF. I’m very interested to work with her and also to learn more about Prose Poetry.

SO! I have a wonderful time coming up this April and I know I’ll be tempted by more events. Will feed back after then.

Happy Writing All