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If you have anything you would like to say about Exeter Poetry Festival 2014 or would like to see on the programme for 2015, please complete the polls and leave a comment
Thank you all for your contributions to Exeter Poetry Festival 2014, whether as a member of the audience, performer, venue, volunteer, or reviewer.
We had more events – 12 in 7 days – more audience members – over 500 – and more positive feedback than ever, and are keen to put on an even better festival next year, as well as events between now and then.
Please help us by completing the polls and giving us your comments, and stay tuned for a pictorial review with choice quotes from your feedback and reviews.
We’ll be keeping you in touch with Devon poetry events through the year, and letting you know of our plans for 2015, so keep visiting our website.
With best wishes,
The Excite Team:
Liz Adams
Damian Furniss
Rachel McCarthy
Katherine McDermott-Darley
Alasdair Paterson
Julie-Ann Rowell
Elspeth Tollemarche
And our funders:
The Arts Council
The Ronald Duncan Foundation
Literature Works
Exeter Central Library
Exeter University
And you – the audience!
Exeter Poetry Festival Programme 2014
Tickets for events can be purchased:
– Online, using the links below or by browsing upcoming events
– By phone, 01392 667080
– In person in advance from Exeter Phoenix Box Office, Gandy Street, Exeter,
– In person at the venue on the night
Guidance on using the box office to purchase tickets.
Quick links to event ticket purchase:
– 01/10 ‘The Retold Ramayana’ at Exeter University with Daljit Nagra
– 04/10 ‘The Forgotten of World War One’ at Exeter Central Library
– 04/10 Fiona Benson and Carrie Etter at Exeter Central Library
– 05/10 Workshop with Carrie Etter at Exeter Central Library
Monday 29th September
Simon Williams and Susan Taylor
Venue: City Gate Hotel, Cellar bar, Exeter
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: FREE
After great success last year, we again kick-start the Festival with the launch of a collector’s edition of The Broadsheet, featuring poems from Festival guests alongside work from some of the most talented poets resident in the South West
Tuesday 30th September
NEXT GENERATION
Venue: Queen’s Building, Exeter University, Prince of Wales Road, EX4 45B
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Tickets: Donations to Festival appreciated
Four of Exeter University’s brightest lights read for us as a poetic prelude to the Festival’s signature lecture…
BEYOND BORDERS:
With Víctor Rodríguez Núñez, Harry Guest and Martin Sorrell
Venue: Old Library, Exeter University
Time: 7.30pm – 9pm
For one night only we’re lucky to bring together experts in poetry translation to read their work and discuss the joys and challenges of translation in practice. Introduced and facilitated by Dr. Andy Brown, Director of the Centre for Creative Writing at Exeter University, we bring you multi-award winning Cuban poet Víctor Rodríguez Núñez; poet, editor and specialist in Japanese and French translation, Harry Guest; and esteemed academic, BBC playwright and translator Martin Sorrell, for a stimulating and multi-cultural evening of readings and debate.
Wednesday 1st October
With Daljit Nagra
Venue: Roborough Studios, Exeter University, Prince of Wales Road, EX4 45B
Time: 7pm – 9pm A two hour performance including interval.
Tickets: £12 / Students £8 /children 11+ £6
We are thrilled to have the critically acclaimed Daljit Nagra amongst our line up this year, for a visually stunning retelling of the Ramayana.
Daljt’s technicolour and multi-cultural version of the tale follows Rama’s quest to rescue his wife Sita from her abduction by Raavana, Lord of the Underworld.
Ahead of the event (6pm – 6:30pm) is a free lecture by Dr. Jerri Daboo, Senior Lecturer in Drama at Exeter University: “Exiling heroes and burning demons: examining two productions of ‘The Ramayana’ in Britain”.
Thursday 2nd October
With Gillian Clarke and Adam Horovitz
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 7pm – 9pm
The Festival’s signature reading this year brings National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke and upcoming poet and performer Adam Horovitz, described by Carol Ann Duffy as ‘the real deal’ to the Exeter stage.
Friday 3rd October
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Tickets are now SOLD OUT! For other events at Exeter Poetry Festival, 30th September to 5th October, buy your tickets here.
Critically acclaimed rapper and spoken word artist Kate Tempest comes to Exeter for one night only.
Her epic narrative poem Brand New Ancients won the Ted Hughes Prize and she has just completed a sell out run in the UK and New York. Everybody Down, her debut solo album, came out earlier this year on Big Dada Records, also to vast acclaim. Her first full collection, ‘Hold Your Own’, will be published by Picador on October 9th 2014. Early booking advised.
Saturday 4th October – Daytime
THE FORGOTTEN OF WW1
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 1pm – 5pm
The Untold story of Ivor Gurney
A special screening of Redcliffe Film’s widely praised biopic of Ivor Gurney, the WW1 soldier, poet and composer.
Women Poets of WW1
Some well known female writers based in Devon and Cornwall read and respond to poems written by women living and working during the Great War including Charlotte Mew and May Sinclair. With Ann Gray, Rachel McCarthy, Helen Evans and Chrissy Banks.
FREE EVENT – Voices and Memory
Time: 3.30pm – 5pm
ExLibris launches a pamphlet of poems based on WW1 objects held in Exeter Library’s archive.
Saturday 4th October – Evening
THE RONALD DUNCAN READING
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Our final reading brings Fiona Benson, fresh from reading at the Forward Prize for Best First Collection for her widely acclaimed Bright Travellers, together with American poet Carrie Etter, whose latest work, Imagined Sons, was described by Bernard O’Donoghue as simply “of the utmost importance.”
Sunday 5th October – Daytime
WORKSHOP : CARRIE ETTER – Adventures in Prose Poetry
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 11am – 1pm
Join award-winning poet and lecturer Carrie Etter to delve into the intricacies of the prose poem. For both those new to and those familiar with the form, this workshop offers fresh adventures in prose poetry, in reading and discussing wonderful works as well as composing our own.
Sunday 5th October – Daytime
Venue: Bikeshed Theatre
Time: 7.30pm –
To apply to take part, please email: slam@speakinsong.co.uk
15 contestants, 3 rounds, 1 winner, much kudos.
There will be a prize of £50 cash and a further £50 paid slot at Spokes Amaze! for the winner.
Judges for the event are last year’s winner, Saskia Tomlinson, current Bard of Exeter Daniel Haynes and celebrated local poet Graham Burchell.
Gillian Clarke on Radio 4 and at Exeter Poetry Festival On National Poetry Day, Thursday 2nd October 2014
Twenty one years ago, four relatively unknown poets spoke with Peggy Reynolds for BBC Radio 4 about the impact of gender and nationality on their poetry and on their sense of themselves as poets.
Today, Carol Ann Duffy is the first-ever Poet Laureate, Gillian Clarke is the National Poet of Wales, Liz Lochhead is the Makar or National Poet of Scotland, and Eavan Boland is a highly distinguished scholar-poet who divides her year between Stanford and Dublin.
In the light of these developments – not to mention the constitutional changes and wild economic fluctuations of the last 21 years – Peggy Reynolds speaks with each of them again, asking them to reflect on their creative and professional journeys and on the state of women’s poetry – and poetry in general – today.
Finally, she asks them to cast forward and predict what they might say if there were a similar programme in 21 years time. Their replies surprise her.
Thursday 2nd October
With Gillian Clarke and Adam Horovitz
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 7pm – 9pm
The Festival’s signature reading this year brings National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke and upcoming poet and performer Adam Horovitz, described by Carol Ann Duffy as ‘the real deal’ to the Exeter stage.
Good luck to Fiona Benson, shortlisted for the Forward Prize for First Collection awarded 30th September, reading at Exeter Poetry Festival 4th October 2014
Saturday 4th October – Evening
THE RONALD DUNCAN READING
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Our final reading brings Fiona Benson, fresh from reading at the Forward Prize for Best First Collection for her widely acclaimed Bright Travellers, together with American poet Carrie Etter, whose latest work, Imagined Sons, was described by Bernard O’Donoghue as simply “of the utmost importance.”
Launch of the 2nd special Exeter Poetry Festival edition of The Broadsheet at the City Gate Hotel on 29th September 2014 at 7.30pm
Monday 29th September
Simon Williams and Susan Taylor
Venue: City Gate Hotel, Cellar bar, Exeter
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: FREE
After great success last year, we again kick-start the Festival with the launch of a collector’s edition of The Broadsheet, featuring poems from Festival guests alongside work from some of the most talented poets resident in the South West, listed below…
Roselle Angwin
Fred Beake
Ruth Butler
Rose Cook
Ian Chamberlain
Gram Joel Davis
Damian Furniss
Robert Garnham
Becky Gethin
Kevin Gray
Susan Jordan
Kenny Knight
Hannah Linden
Elaine Miller
Simon Millward
Katie Moudry
Jenny Osborne
Ian Mortimer
Jan Nicholls
Alasdair Paterson
Don Pearson
Mike Rose-Steel
Julie-Ann Rowell
Phil Smith
Steve Spence
John Stuart
Mark Totterdell
James Turner
Roberta Chloe Verdant
Marc Woodward
Marcus Wylie
William Oxley
Contemporary women poets read from and respond to the women poets of World War One on Saturday 4th October at Exeter Central Library
Saturday 4th October – Daytime
THE FORGOTTEN OF WW1
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 1pm – 5pm
The Untold story of Ivor Gurney
A special screening of Redcliffe Film’s widely praised biopic of Ivor Gurney, the WW1 soldier, poet and composer.
Women Poets of WW1
Some well known female writers based in Devon and Cornwall read and respond to poems written by women living and working during the Great War including Charlotte Mew and May Sinclair. With Ann Gray, Rachel McCarthy, Helen Evans and Chrissy Banks.
FREE EVENT – Voices and Memory
Time: 3.30pm – 5pm
ExLibris launches a pamphlet of poems based on WW1 objects held in Exeter Library’s archive.
Congratulations to Exeter Poetry Festival 2014 competition winners
The winners of the Exeter Poetry Festival 2014 competition are:
Drawing Lesson by Barbara Farley
Lusitania Riots, 1915 by Rebecca Gethin
The Cahills by Graham Burchell
Tunnellers and Moles by Clare Hepworth-Wain
A Village War Memorial by Mark Haworth-Booth
Great Uncle Frank by Sarah E Robinson
Unheard by Ian Royce Chamberlain
Greatcoat by Lucy Lepchani
Shades by Simon Williams
An Awfully Big Adventure by Helen Ashley
‘After great suffering sweet rest at last’ by Rosie Barrett
From the Front 1914 by Julie M Harris
Winter Pink by Suzy Miles
Stuck by Denise McSheehy
The poems will appear in ‘Voices and Memory’ along with poems and illustrations from students of Years 9 to 13 at Stover School Newton Abbot.
The pamphlet will be launched on Saturday 4th October 2014 at Exeter Central Library as the culmination of our ‘The Forgotten of WW1’ day.
Saturday 4th October – Daytime
THE FORGOTTEN OF WW1
Venue: Exeter Central Library
Time: 1pm – 5pm
The Untold story of Ivor Gurney
A special screening of Redcliffe Film’s widely praised biopic of Ivor Gurney, the WW1 soldier, poet and composer.
Women Poets of WW1
Some well known female writers based in Devon and Cornwall read and respond to poems written by women living and working during the Great War including Charlotte Mew and May Sinclair. With Ann Gray, Rachel McCarthy, Helen Evans and Chrissy Banks.
FREE EVENT – Voices and Memory
Time: 3.30pm – 5pm
ExLibris launches a pamphlet of poems based on WW1 objects held in Exeter Library’s archive.
The Fifth Exeter Poetry Slam! Sunday 5th October 7:30pm at the Bikeshed
Tim King, last year’s winner Saskia Tomlinson and Morwenna Griffiths
Taking the Mic co-presenters Morwenna Griffiths and Tim King proudly host the fifth Exeter Poetry Slam!
15 of the finest poetic performers in the South West will go head to head in the 5th instalment of this annual competition. Previous winners include Ian Royce Chamberlain, Robert Garnham and Daniel Haynes, so expect the the very highest standard of competition.
The Slam! will be held over three rounds, comprising three heats, a semi-final and final. The winner of each heat and the two highest scoring runners-up will qualify for the semi-final. The two highest scoring poets in the semi-final will compete head-to-head in the final.
To apply to take part, please email: slam@speakinsong.co.uk
Slam! poets will also be asked to supply a biographical note of no more than 40 words (strict maximum) by Monday 29th September 2014, to be read by the referees to introduce each contestant to the audience.
15 contestants, 3 rounds, 1 winner, much kudos.
There will be a prize of £50 cash and a further £50 paid slot at Spokes Amaze! for the winner.
Judges for the event are last year’s winner, Saskia Tomlinson, current Bard of Exeter Daniel Haynes and celebrated local poet Graham Burchell.
Exeter Poetry Festival 