Ripon Poetry Festival 2024
(The Ripon Poetry Festival 2024 Poetry Competition is now closed.
The Anthology of the best poems entered in the competition
will be launched at the Ripon Poetry Festival 2024 on 21st September)
Ripon Poetry Festival
Thursday 19th – Sunday 22nd September 2024
READINGS, WORKSHOPS & BOOK LAUNCHES FOR POETRY LOVERS OF ALL AGES
Kate Fox - S.J. Litherland - Marilyn Longstaff - Adisa the Verbaliser - Ripon Writers - Joe Williams - Khadijah Ibrahim - Trevor Vaughan - Ian Clarke - Vane Women - Caroline Matusiak - Write On Ripon - Olivia Mulligan
Welcome to the seventh Ripon Poetry Festival
The Ripon Poetry Festival is back with another weekend of poetry readings, performances, workshops and book launches for poetry-lovers of all ages.
Kate Fox and Adisa the Verbaliser make very welcome returns to the festival, which also includes readings by Marilyn Longstaff, Khadijah Ibrahim, S.J. Litherland, Joe Williams and Vane Women, poetry workshops for children and grown-ups, an open mic night, the launch of this year’s festival anthologies, the adventures of Reggie from the Hedgie, and book launches by local poets Caroline Matusiak, Ian Clarke and Trevor Vaughan.
To find out more about the festival, to join our mailing list or to become a Friend of the Ripon Poetry Festival contact Andy Croft (07721890778), Paul Mills (01765 603633) or ask at the Little Ripon Bookshop.
Follow the Festival on Facebook, X and Instagram, and feel free to live-post during events.
Kate Fox is a stand-up poet, spoken word artist and broadcaster. She is a regular contributor to Radio 3’s The Verb, has made two comedy series for Radio 4 has been Poet in Residence at the Glastonbury Festival. Her books include Fox Populi, Chronotopia, The Oscillations, Where There’s Muck There’s Bras and Bigger on the Inside.
Adisa the Verbaliser is a performance-poet on a mission to highlight the power of poetry on and off the page. A previous winner of the New Performance Poet of the Year award, his mango-flavoured metaphors and his larva-fuelled performances draw on African-Caribbean history, folklore and tradition. He has worked in hundreds of schools all over the UK. His publications include Lip Hopping with the Fundi-Fu.
Adam Lowe From the four-year-old boy who, though always easy in his mixedness of race, also wants to wear a blonde woman’s wig without any angst of self-contradiction, through the poems delighting in the frank physicality of gay sex, to the mature man experiencing domestic contentment, Adam Lowe takes us on a journey, rich in observation and always in a poetry that makes an art of “patterflash”.
Marilyn Longstaff is a member of the Vane Women collective in the North-east of England. Her books include Puritan Games, Sitting among the Hoppers, The Museum of Spare Parts, Raiment, Articles of War and Being Gemini. She lives in Darlington.
S.J. Litherland is a founder member of Darlington’s writing, performing and publishing collective Vane Women. She has twice been commended in the National Poetry Competition. Her books include The Long Interval, The Absolute Bonus of Rain, The Work of the Wind, Composition in White and Marginal Future
Ian Clarke has published four pamphlets of poetry, including Owl Lit, A Slow Stirring and Staying On. He lives in Harrogate
Olivia Mulligan has published three books of poetry, Poems on the Gate Post, Advice from a Stranger and 10:37. Reggie from the Hedgie is her first book for children. She lives in Thirsk.
Joe Williams is a writer and performing poet from Leeds. His books include Killing the Piano, An Otley Run and The Taking Part.
Trevor Vaughan is a retired Church of England priest. His books include Nowt, Parson’s Pie, Omilettes and Plainsong. He is currently sacristan at St Michael and All Angels, Littlethorpe.
Caroline Matusiak was a prize-winner in last year’s festival competition. She is a member of Write On Ripon and Ripon Writers. The 36 from Ripon is her first collection.
Booking Information
Tickets for all events are available to purchase on Eventbrite, in advance from Little Ripon Bookshop, 12-13 Westgate, Ripon HG4 2AT (telephone: 01765 606689) or on the door.
Free events do not require tickets – but entry is on a first-come first-served basis.
To see more details about the Ripon Poetry Festival 2024 programme and
to buy tickets for events please click on the button below