The 5th Festival of Suffolk Poetry, a day of writing workshops and poetry performances and open mic.
The festival kicks off at ten in the morning with poetry writing workshops lead by Rebecca Watts, Susan Utting and Derek Adams.
In the afternoon there will be readings by the various poetry cafés from all over the county: Pinky’s Café from Halesworth, Felixstow Café poets, Arlington's Café Poets from Ipswich, Poetry Aloud from Bury St Edmunds, Bungay and Blyth Poets and New Words: Fresh Voices from Lowestoft. There will be performances by excellent young poets from ONE, Suffolk's Sixth Form College. Artist Stephen Cassidy will talk about his upcoming exhibition at the Frame Gallery in Ipswich, based on a series of poems about Suffolk written by his father John Cassidy which were published in Stand magazine in 2016. During the afternoon other events will be taking place in St Stephen's Hall, including writing workshops presented by the students from ONE, and appointments with our ‘Poetry Doctors’ Rebecca Watts & Susan Utting, bring along a poem that you think could do with some attention and they will give you helpful feedback. The afternoon session concludes with the poetry open mic, where anyone can sign up to take the stage.
The evening will begin with headliner Blake Morrison, well-known author and poet. He is Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College and visiting Professor at the University of Suffolk. His latest poetry collection Shingle Street is set along the Suffolk coast, the opening poems address an eroding landscape, ‘abashed by the ocean’s passion’. But coastal life gives way to other, more dangerous, vistas: a wave unleashes a flood-tide of terror; a sequence of topical poems lays bare the most pressing topics of our times; while elsewhere touching portraits of the past bring forth the long lost and loved. Blake’s memoir And when did you last see your father? was made into a film starring Jim Broadbent as his father and Colin Firth as Blake.
Then the spotlight falls on Suffolk Poetry Society members Pam Job and John Vaughan. Bringing the evening to a close will the evening will be two very special guest poets Rebecca Watts and Susan Utting.
