Tuesday 23 October 2018

Aldeburgh poetry

I've always intended to go to more literature festivals, in particular those that specialise in poetry and Flash. Especially this year I regret not being able to get to the Aldeburgh poetry festival. It's not so far away from where I live, but it seems always to be on a weekend when I have to work.

2018's festival is curated by Poetry School / Paul Stephenson and involves many people I've talked to (albeit briefly), including Helena Nelson, Julia Webb, Chrissy Williams, Fiona Moore, Robert Peake, George Szirtes, Jane Commane and Matthew Stewart.

Also there's a session entitled "A Cambridge Quartet of First Collections" with Rebecca Watts, Adam Crothers, Claudine Toutoungi, and Alex Wong. I've seen some of them perform locally though I've not read their books.

I suspect that much of the valuable interaction at these events happens outside of the standard sessions. Next year my work commitments will be changing, so who knows, I might manage to visit for an extended period and imbibe the atmosphere.