Dalijit Nagra, Wycliffe College, Thurs 8th Nov
The Stroud Book Festival returns for a third year on 7th November, and is thrilled to once again be hosting an eclectic line-up of poets and poetry from Gloucestershire and beyond.
The first poet on the bill is multi-award-winning poet and broadcaster, Daljit Nagra, on Thursday 8th Nov at Wycliffe College, one of the festival’s sponsors. Nagra, who was the first ever poet in residence at BBC Radio 4, will be reading from his latest book, British Museum, as well as earlier books, including the Forward Prize-winning Yes We Have Coming to Dover! “He’s a marvellous reader of his work,” says Stroud poet Adam Horovitz, who will be introducing him on the night, “and his questing, questioning, witty and politically pertinent poems are well worth discovering aloud as well as on the page.”
On Friday 9th Nov, the Stroud Book Festival Poetry Night offers up a wonderfully varied and immersive evening of readings, performance and music by a hand-picked bill of acclaimed poets, in two parts. The first part brings together three poets with Gloucestershire connections: Kate Carruthers Thomas, Patrick Mackie and Maria Stadnicka. It closes with acclaimed Welsh poet and singer Paul Henry and will be compered by Adam Horovitz.
“On Saturday 10th November we’ll be celebrating the work of Gloucestershire poet and composer Ivor Gurney with a one-woman show starring writer and actor Jan Carey, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One,” says the festival’s artistic director Caroline Sanderson. “Author, Composer, Soldier-of-a-sort: The Life and Work of Ivor Gurney is fresh from an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer and we are delighted to bring the show to Stroud.”
“We round off our poetry programme on Sunday 11th November with a magical family event inspired by nature,” adds Caroline. “We hope that children of all ages will come and meet Frann Preston Gannon, illustrator of the poetry anthology I-am-the-seed-that-grew-the-tree. It’s a glorious new gift anthology of 365 nature poems for children, spanning over 400 years of poetry, and including the work of poets as diverse as William Blake, Roger McGough, Carol Ann Duffy, John Agard, Eleanor Farjeon and William Wordsworth. As well as a chance to enjoy the poetry-telling, Frann will be encouraging children aged 6 and above to create and illustrate their very own nature poem.”
Tickets are available now from the Subscription Rooms, by calling 01453 760900 or by visiting stroudbookfestival.org.uk where you can also download the programme for this year's festival.