Kate Sweeney is an artist based in the North East of England. Her video pieces have screened and been exhibited nationally and internationally including Sydney International Film Festival, Zebra Film Festival in Berlin, Manchester Animation Festival, AnimaTricks in Helsinki and International Poetry Festival in London. Kate is currently a research associate at Newcastle University, and… Continue reading Kate Sweeney
Category: 2022
Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Anastasia Taylor-Lind is an English/Swedish photojournalist covering issues relating to women, war and violence. She is a National Geographic Magazine photographer, a TED fellow and a 2016 Harvard Nieman fellow. She writes poems about contemporary conflicts and the experiences she cannot photograph.
Neil Astley
Neil Astley is the editor of Bloodaxe Books which he founded in 1978. His books include many anthologies, most notably those in the Staying Alive series: Staying Alive (2002), Being Alive (2004), Being Human (2011) and Staying Human (2020), along with three collaborations with Pamela Robertson-Pearce, Soul Food and the DVD-books In Person: 30 Poets… Continue reading Neil Astley
Harry Josephine Giles
Harry Josephine Giles is a writer and performer from Orkney, living in Leith. Their verse novel Deep Wheel Orcadia was published by Picador in October 2021 and was a Poetry Book Society Winter Selection. Their poetry collections The Games (Out-Spoken Press, 2018) and Tonguit (Freight Books 2015) were between them shortlisted for the Forward Prize… Continue reading Harry Josephine Giles
Poetry Live!
Friday 6th May, 10am-12pm Frederick Douglass Centre Free (event for schools only) Newcastle Poetry Festival invites schools in the North East to a special edition of Poetry Live! which brings GCSE poetry to life. Featuring readings from some of the UK’s most known and loved poets, including Imtiaz Dharker, Simon Armitage, Grace Nichols, John Agard,… Continue reading Poetry Live!
Hannah Lowe and Joelle Taylor
Saturday 7th May, 7-8.15pm Northern Stage £5/£3 Our final event celebrates two phenomenal prize-winning poets. Hannah Lowe is the author of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year, The Kids (Bloodaxe), a book of sonnets about teaching and learning, inspired by Lowe’s own experience working as a teacher at an inner-city London sixth form. Joelle… Continue reading Hannah Lowe and Joelle Taylor
Workshop 2: Polly Atkin (online)
Friday 6 May, 12.00-14.00 Online workshop via Zoom £15 To speak the impossible hope of the firefly: trying to notice joy in a time of ecological crisis How can we write through, about and against ecological crisis without being eaten by despair? In this workshop we will look at poems that address climate emergency, apocalyptic… Continue reading Workshop 2: Polly Atkin (online)
Newcastle University Open Mic
Friday 6th May, 1-2pm Northern Stage Free event, all welcome Are you an NCL student who has some poems you can’t wait to share? Then we invite you to take part in our inaugural open mic for students at this year’s Newcastle Poetry Festival. 5-minute slots are available to those who sign up via email. … Continue reading Newcastle University Open Mic
Simon Armitage (in person only)
Friday 6th May, 4-5pm Northern Stage £5/£3 Simon Armitage, the UK’s poet laurate, joins us for a unique performance of his own poetry themed around the environment. Simon was born and grew up in West Yorkshire. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. He has published over a… Continue reading Simon Armitage (in person only)
John Agard, Grace Nichols, and Imtiaz Dharker
Friday 6th May, 6.30-7:30pm Northern Stage £5/£3 This evening’s reading presents three internationally acclaimed poets whose diasporic work is central to British literature. Grace Nichols’ most recent collection Passport To Here and There captures a journey that moves from coastal memories of a Guyana childhood to life in her adoptive Sussex landscape (Bloodaxe, 2020). John… Continue reading John Agard, Grace Nichols, and Imtiaz Dharker