Not long until the Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival takes over Bristol once again

Not long until the Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival takes over Bristol once again

Posted on: 03 Apr 2024

The annual poetry festival will once again bring together local, national and international poets and speakers for a series of exciting events.

 

Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival takes place from Friday 12 until Sunday 21 April 2024.

 

The aim of the festival is to showcase world-class poetry in the widest range of forms possible, with a series of readings, slam competitions, poetry film screenings, poetic walking tours, digital media, discussion panels, open mics, lectures and much more. This year’s theme is ‘Poetic Futures’.

 

Browse the full list of events and purchase your 2024 festival pass, here.

 

 

Lyra’s programme looks to connect communities in Bristol through poetry and co-curate experiences, welcoming partnerships, and collaborations. Take a look at some of the festival highlight events below.

 

On Sunday 7 April, the Poetry Slam will kick off with the Qualifying Heats set to take place on Sunday 7 April. Poets will compete for a place in the Grand Slam Finals at St George’s Bristol on Sunday 14 April, with headline performances from Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa and Jonny Fluffypunk.

 

Saturday 13 April at The Lantern will see Raise The Bar present an evening of raucous, dynamic, thought-provoking and life-affirming live poetry with sets from award-winning writer, novelist, poet and broadcaster Salena Godden, alongside acclaimed poets Nikita Gill and Cecilia Knapp.

 

 

The following day, the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage will be at St George’s for a solo poetry reading and Q&A. Hailing from West Yorkshire, Armitage has won countless prizes for his poetry as well as his Ivor Novello-winning musical exploits with his band LYR.

 

On Friday 19 April, St George’s will host an evening of readings from renowned gardener and poet Alice Oswald – who won the TS Eliot Prize for her work, Dart. She will be joined by special guests the award-winning Rachel Long and Caroline Bird.

 

Our final pick from this year’s festival is ‘Black Stories of the Afro Wind’ at Watershed on Saturday 20 April. Expect an evening of performances from poets all the way from Ghana, headlined by the multi-award-winning Gabriel Awuah Mainoo with support from some of the finest up-and-comers in poetry from Ashesi University Ghana.

 

 

Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival takes place from Friday 12 until Sunday 21 April 2024. Grab your tickets and browse the full list of events, here.

Read more:

 

Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.