POETRY at the Parsonage returns for a second year following its successful inauguration in 2016.
Top-notch poets will headline a day of workshops, talks and performances at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
Budding writers will be able to get in on the act with an open-mic session, poetry readings and the chance to pick up hints from the masters.
The first festival of its type in Haworth was held last year to tie in with the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.
This year’s Poetry at the Parsonage festival, on Saturday July 1, is part of a year-long programme celebrating the bicentenary of brother Branwell’s birth.
A spokesman said: “For fledgling poets or those wanting to build on their talents, there’s the opportunity to gain inspiration and hone your skills through workshops and open mic.
“We’re delighted to announce Simon Armitage, Patience Agbabi, Jacob Polley, Kei Miller, Zaffar Kunial and Clare Shaw as workshop leaders.
“And we have a treat in store for the evening: Simon, Patience, Jacob, Kei, Zaffar and Clare will come together for a poetry reading in The Old School Room.
“Poetry at the Parsonage offers a unique opportunity to hear some of the most vibrant poetic voices on the scene."
All of the workshops will take place at venues in Haworth.
The day will begin with Clare Shaw’s Writing the Shadows, taking as a starting point Charlotte Brontë’s phrase, ‘the shadows are as important as the light’.
The workshop will explore the dramatic, poetic and personal importance of engaging with loss, trauma, pain and other difficult experiences in poetry.
A workshop by the Brontë Parsonage Museum’ s 2017 creative partner Simon Armitage, entitled The Great Indoors, has already sold out.
Birmingham-born Zaffar Kunial will help writers decide when their poem is ‘ready’ during a session on Poetry Editing.
He will teach basic principles, and give practical tips on aspects such as line breaks, syntax and form.
Jacob Polley’ s workshop Small World will explore the ‘close-in and seldom-examined’, along with the micro-decisions people make while writing a poem.
Jacob was born and grew up in Cumbria, and his book of poems Jackself won the 2016 TS Eliot Prize for Poetry.
Kei Miller will lead a workshop on the theme of 'Poetry is never about what we say, it is about how we say it'.
Patience Agbabi’s workshop Telling Tales – Page to Stage will follow the transition from written word to performance of her modern-day interpretation of Chaucer.
Patience is a poet celebrated for paying equal homage to literature and performance, and is a leading proponent of the spoken word scene.
The day after the festival, on Sunday, July 2, Simon Armitage will host Wandering Bards, a walk in the footsteps of would-be poet Branwell Brontë.
The linear walk will go from Luddendenfoot in the Calder Valley, where Branwell worked as station clerk-in-charge, over the moors to Haworth.
Simon will be reading poetry during the arduous trek aimed at experienced walkers.
Visit bronte.org.uk/whats-on or call 01535 640192 for further information or to book tickets for events.
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