TEIGNMOUTH POETRY FESTIVAL 2016

Jackie Kay Martyn Crucefix

Greta Stoddart Simon Williams

Susan Taylor Ann Gray

Lawrence Sail William Oxley Simon Barron

Robert Garnham Rebecca Tantony

17 TO 20 MARCH 2016www.poetryteignmouth.com

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TICKETS / WORKSHOP BOOKINGS

Tickets for evening events at Teign Heritage Centre are available online from Ticketsource (address below), from the Information Point in the new Teignmouth Pavilions on the seafront, or via the email address below. Advance booking advised, although you may still take your chance on the door.Tickets for daytime events at The Ice Factory will be available on the door, or via the email address below. Workshops – advance booking essential - can be made via Ticketsource or email below.To buy online (includes a PayPal option) www.ticketsource.co.uk/poetryteignmouth To buy via email – ticketsforteignmouthpoetry @gmail.com More details on Festival page of website: www.poetryteignmouth.com

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TEIGNMOUTH POETRY FESTIVAL 2016

Venues

THC – Teign Heritage Centre, French St, Teignmouth, TQ14 8ST 01626 777041 www.teignheritage.org.uk TAAG – Teignmouth Arts Action Group, Northumberland Place, TQ14 8DD www.teignmoutharts.org.uk

Ice Factory, 10 Somerset Place, Teignmouth TQ14, www.teignm outhplayers.com

See map on back page

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Programme in Brief

Thurs 17 8 – 10pm, Well Met - Simon Williams & Susan Taylor with music from Simon Barron THC

Fri 18 10am – 1pm, Writing Workshop - Graham Burchell TAAG 11am – 12.30pm, Open Mic - Sufi and ecstatic poetry Ice Factory

2 - 4pm, Writing Workshop - Greta Stoddart TAAG 2.30 – 4pm, Sufi in Translation - William Oxley/Parvin Loloi  Ice Factory 4.30 – 5pm, Talking Poetry - Publishing, with Patricia Oxley Ice Factory 7 – 8.15pm, Poems in Other Languages THC 8.30 – 10.00pm, Reading - Greta Stoddart & support THC

Sat 19 10am – 1pm, Writing Workshop - Jackie Kay TAAG 2 – 3.30pm, Therapeutic Poetry & The Book of Love and Loss Ice Factory 4 – 5pm, Songs of the Beloved - Annabel Milln & friends Ice Factory 7 – 8pm, Reading - Ann Gray and Lawrence Sail THC 8.30 – 9.30pm Reading - Jackie Kay THC

Sun 20 10am – 1pm, Writing Workshop - Martyn Crucefix TAAG 3 – 5pm, Open Mic Ice Factory 6.30 – 8pm, Reading - Martyn Crucefix Competition Readings and Prizegiving THC 8.30 – 10pm, High Performance THC

Note: Afternoon events at the Ice Factory include free Tea and Cakes

Details of Writing Workshops on page 11

Fringe Events

Sat 12 7 – 9pm, Festival Opening Party, live music TAAG Sat 12 to Thur 24 10am – 5pm, Lost and Found Exhibition TAAG Sat 12 to Tues 22 Treasure Hunt – under 16s Various Tues 22 5 – 6pm, Treasure Hunt prize presentation TAAG Tues 22 7 – 9pm, Poetry reading TAAG

Ticket Information - See page 2

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FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

THURSDAY MARCH 17

8pm – 10pm THC £6'WELL MET’ - an eclectic mix of poems and songs of sea and shore. Susan Taylor - Simon Williams – Simon BarronWell Met indeed: these three have been busy beachcombing their way around the Southwest and beyond to bring ocean-inspired lyrics and windswept, seascape stanzas to add to the sea salt in the Teignmouth air.

Susan Taylor lives on Dartmoor and tries to capture its wildness in her poetry, as much as she can. She’s not afraid to take on the challenge of universal themes and often weaves fresh narratives from traditional stories.Simon Williams’ poetry ranges widely, from quirky pieces derived from news items or science and technology, to biographical themes, to the occasional Clarihew. He often builds humour into his writing.

Simon Barron is a songwriter and interpreter of traditional English folk song. His music and assured stage presence have brought air-time on BBC Radio 2 & 3, and appearances at all major UK festivals. Simon is a guitar virtuoso, with a ballistic fingerstyle that perfectly suits his songs of nature, land and sea.

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11am – 12.30pm Ice Factory £3 OPEN MIC – Sufi and own Ecstatic Poetry

Presented by Ronnie Aaronson. Sufi poetry brings harmony in turbulent times. The friendly and tolerant writings of the Sufis have earned the respect of people worldwide - of all religions and of none. Their legacy of peace, love, fellowship and empathy continues to inspire writers today.This is the opportunity for Sufi aficionados to share their long-time favourite poems, or to present poems of their own in the Sufi style.

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FRIDAY MARCH 18 (Cont…)

2.30pm – 4pm Ice Factory £4SUFI POETRY IN TRANSLATION – William Oxley & Parvin Loloi Including Tea and Cakes

William Oxley’s poetry has appeared in The New York Times, The Spectator, The Independent and The Observer. He has many books and countless magazine publications to his credit and has given readings in places as far removed as Nepal, Canada and France.With his co-translator, Parvin Loloi, William will look at the work of Hafez, the Persian classical and quasi-mystical poet. Hafez was the founding father of Persian poetry, its greatest love poet, and inventor of the ghazal form which, it has been argued, influenced the development of the sonnet form in Italy first,

then the rest of Europe. Hafez laid the foundations on which Jalal din Rumi was to build.

4.30pm – 5pm Ice Factory freeTALKING POETRY – GETTING PUBLISHED – with Patricia OxleyPatricia Oxley, editor of Acumen magazine, in discussion with Ronnie Aaronson. Many poets are first published in periodical magazines, some of which welcome submissions from new writers. What are the protocols? Should you expect to be paid? How good a poet do you have to be? Patricia, who also organises the Torbay Festival of Poetry, has been involved with the poetry magazine scene since 1972. 'Acumen's longevity is down to its editor's clarity of vision and generosity of spirit. It is that rare beast, a genuinely successful and inclusive poetry magazine.' Brian Patten

7pm – 8.15 THC £5POEMS IN OTHER LANGUAGES Ian Royce Chamberlain introduces poetry in other languages, read in their original format and in English translations. This innovative event was a major hit of our first two festivals and returns by popular demand. Volunteer readers – all poetry enthusiasts who are fluent in their chosen (or native) languages – will present poems of their own choice.

8.30pm – 10.00 THC £6GRETA STODDARTGreta Stoddart’s three collections have all brought unequivocal acclaim: At Home in the Dark (Anvil) won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 2002 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection; Salvation Jane was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award 2008 - the judges said ‘… a collection which is both wonderfully unsettling and deeply life-affirming’. Her latest is Alive Alive O (Bloodaxe, 2015). She lives in Devon and teaches for the Poetry School and the Arvon Foundation.With support from Jennie Osborne and Graham Burchell.

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SATURDAY MARCH 19

2pm – 3.30pm Ice Factory £4 THERAPEUTIC POETRY and THE BOOK OF LOVE AND LOSS With Tea and Cakes

Ronnie Aaronson offers an opportunity to read and discuss poems we've written to help ourselves through loss. Followed by readings from The Book of Love and Loss, a life-affirming anthology of contemporary poetry which explores these universal themes from a huge range of perspectives. Edited by R.V. Bailey and June Hall, it was published by The Belgrave Press in 2014. Introduced by June Hall and Jennie Osborne.Entry fee refunded on purchase of the book.

4pm – 5pm Ice Factory £4SONGS OF THE BELOVED with Annabel Milln and friends

Annabel’s songs are based on the poetry of the Sufis, Rumi and Hafiz. With friends including David Holmes (guitar), Petya Halse (flute) and Fran Andre (cello, vocals), this will be “a guaranteed feast for the ears, heart and soul”. Introduced by Ronnie Aaronson

7pm – 8pm THC £5ANN GRAY & LAWRENCE SAIL

Ann Gray’s recent collections include At The Gate (Headland, 2008) and The Man I Was Promised (Headland, 2004). She has been Poet in Residence at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens, and won the Ballymaloe poetry prize in 2014. Ann lives and works in Cornwall where she has a care home for people with dementia. She is co-director of the Bodmin Moor Poetry festival.‘Ann Gray’s poetry is a measured but sumptuous revelation, like the sun coming up a few inches at a a time.’ Clive James

Lawrence Sail’s poetry is vivid, precisely drawn, intelligent – a delight to hear and to read. He has published 12 books of his own poems and edited a number of anthologies, including First and Always (Faber 1988), which raised more than £65,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Recent collections include Waking Dreams: New & selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2010), a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation, and The Quick (Bloodaxe, 2015). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Exeter.

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SATURDAY MARCH 19 (Cont)

8.30pm – 9.30pm THC £10

FESTIVAL HEADLINE READING – JACKIE KAYIntroduced by Graham Burchell

Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland. Her first collection of poems, The Adoption Papers (Bloodaxe, 1991), was immediately recognised as an outstanding debut; it won The Forward Prize and the Saltire Society Award for best first book. Written in the three voices of an adoptive mother, a birth mother and an adopted child, it launched a poetry career rooted in the ability to articulate a wide range of emotional experiences.

Her list of literary awards also includes the Guardian Fiction Award for her novel, Trumpet. Red Dust Road (Picador) won the Scottish Book of the Year Award and the London Book Award. Other honours include a Saltire prize, a Scottish Arts Council Prize and shortlisting for the IMPAC awards. Fiere, her most recent collection of poems, was shortlisted for the Costa award. Jackie has written extensively for stage and television, and has picked up yet more awards for short stories and books for children. She was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2002 and is currently working on her next novel, Bystander.

Jackie Kay, MBE, is Chancellor of the University of Salford and Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. The Festival is privileged to present this great poet, utterly unique voice, and a major figure in UK literature.

This will be an evening of poetry which is personal, heartfelt, compassionate – poems which go directly to the heart of a situation. Faced with an audience, Jackie Kay manages to match the dignified directness of her writing with a style that is disarmingly casual. As a reviewer described it in The Irish Times, ‘It is as though she is speaking to you at a bus stop’.

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SUNDAY MARCH 20

Jackie Kay – image Mary McCartney

3pm – 5pm Ice Factory £4OPEN MICIncluding Tea and Cakes

Jennie Osborne will MC the session, extending a special welcome to writers taking part in the four Festival workshops. No advance bookings – slots of about five minutes on a strictly first-come first-served basis.The Ice Factory is a friendly 40-seater space with an excellent sound system. A lively afternoon, with free tea – and yet more cake!

6.30 – 8pm THC £5MARTYN CRUCEFIX and Competition results

The Festival is indebted to Martyn for his work in judging this year’s competition – and privileged that he will read for us at this prestigious event. Martyn has won many prizes including an Eric Gregory award and a Hawthornden Fellowship. His seven poetry collections have attracted reviews such as “an exceptional ear . . . superbly intelligent . . . urgent, heartfelt, controlled and masterful.” (Kathryn Maris, Poetry London). His translation of Rilke’s Duino Elegies (Enitharmon, 2006) was hailed as “unlikely to be bettered for very many years” (Magma). Recent original collections

include Hurt (Enitharmon, 2010), The Time We Turned (Shearsman, 2014) and A Hatfield Mass (Worple Press, 2014). Daodejing – a new version in English will be published in 2016. For more information, or to read Martyn’s erudite blog, visit http://www.martyncrucefix.com.

FOLLOWED BY COMPETITION PRIZEGIVINGShort-listed poets from the 2016 Teignmouth Poetry Festival Competition will be invited to read their entries. Martyn Crucefix will announce the results and present the £850 in prizes.

Judge Jennie Osborne will present the prizes for the ‘Keats’ Footsteps’ competition and prizewinners will be invited to read their successful poems.

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SUNDAY MARCH 20 (cont’d)

8.30pm – 10pm THC £6HIGH PERFORMANCE with Rebecca Tantony, Ian Beech, Robert Garnham and Ian Royce Chamberlain. Bring the weekend to a close with these top performers.

Rebecca Tantony is an electrifying spoken word artist. She has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Natural History Museum, The Barbican Theatre and Colston Hall among many other prestigious venues. Her first collection, Talk You Round Till Dusk, was published in 2015. Unmissable!

Robert Garnham, long-time SW favourite, is now hot property on the UK festival and spoken word circuit. He has appeared with John Hegley, Arthur Smith - and a leek. He is, he protests, frequently mistaken for Tom Daley. It has become a cliché, but that phrase ‘a unique voice’ fits no-one better than Robert. Playful, whimsical, absurd – his poetry turns the ordinary into sheer delight. His new collection, Nice, is published by Burning Eye Books.

Ian Beech presents Torquay’s Poetry Island, introducing many of the UK’s top performance poets as well as welcoming newcomers to the warm and friendly Blue Walnut stage. His own poetry, all written with the ear of an audience in mind, has brought him appearances at most of the Southwest’s spoken word hotspots. He is protester, social commentator, diarist, host of his own radio show and much more. His first collection, On the Road to Ollantaytambo, was published in 2015.

Ian Royce Chamberlain, a Festival co-founder, was Exeter’s first ever poetry slam champion. He is a regular at SW festivals and open-mic events, holding audiences with a mix of poems to make you laugh, cry, or just think. As an engineer, he loved the challenge of building high performance engines; writing good poetry, he says, is the same process – assembling words into perfect working order. His first collection stumble into grace was published in 2012; the next is taking shape.

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TEIGNMOUTH POETRY FESTIVAL 2016

Image Marcus Wylie

Image Ian Beech

WRITING WORKSHOPSplaces at workshops must be booked in advance – see back page

FRIDAY MARCH 1810am – 1pm TAAG £10LED BY GRAHAM BURCHELLGraham has lived and taught in many countries. He has written books for children and, more recently, published three poetry collections. His name regularly features in the results of poetry competitions, among others ‘The Bridport Prize’, ‘The Plough Prize’, ‘Torbay Poetry Festival’ and the international ‘Poetry on the Lake’. His workshops are thoughtfully led - poetic inspiration guaranteed.

2pm –4pm TAAG £10LED BY GRETA STODDARTGreta quotes Alan Bennett: ‘You do not put yourself into what you write - you find yourself there’. With a mix of close readings and writing exercises this workshop will look at who we think we are in our poems, and how we might come up with new ways of being there.As many Poetry Teignmouth regulars know, Greta’s workshops combine a sympathetic touch with firm leadership. She never fails to inspire.

SATURDAY MARCH 19 10am – 1pm TAAG £15LED BY JACKIE KAYJackie has called her workshop ‘In the Short Run’ – exploring how much you can say in a short poem and ways of making turns in their form. Poet, novelist, dramatist – Jackie Kay was made MBE for services to literature in 2006. Hers has been a voice unique in British poetry since the publication of her outstanding first collection, The Adoption Papers (Bloodaxe, 1991). Book early for this rare and special opportunity – a poetry workshop with the incomparable Jackie Kay.

SUNDAY MARCH 2010am – 1pm TAAG £10LED BY MARTYN CRUCEFIX Martyn has themed this workshop ‘Poems as Translations?’ No foreign language skills required, just a willingness to explore the ways that poems can be seen as translations – how experience, ideas, signs, symbols, gestures, even facial expressions are brought over into language. Exercises will stretch poetic habits and yield the beginnings of new poems for participants.Martyn is a highly respected workshop leader, hugely experienced in poetry history and theory - as well as the hard graft of writing it.

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