DOZENS of poets inspired by the Brontë siblings will descend on Haworth next month.
The Brontë Society has teamed up with the Word Club of Leeds to organise the first-ever Poetry at the Parsonage Festival.
More than 100 poets and performers from across Yorkshire are on the line-up for readings and workshops on July 2 and 3.
The event is the latest in this year’s Brontë200 season to celebrate the bicentenary of Jane Eyre author Charlotte’s birth.
Headliner Helen Mort said: “Events like this create a sense of community and encourage poets to support one another.
“Yorkshire has a thriving poetry scene and it’s good to bring everyone together. Performing at Poetry at the Parsonage is a wonderful opportunity.”
Matthew Withey, who has organised the event on behalf of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said Poetry at the Parsonage would be 2016’s biggest gathering of poets anywhere in Britain.
He added: “It is a free-to-enter festival with sets by more than one hundred performers, all coming together on the edge of the moors that inspired some of the finest poetry in the English language.
“The weekend will be fabulous feast of words and we invite people to bring their families and share it with us.”
Charlotte’s Stage, at the Old School Room next to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, will see performances by Mark Connors, Helen Mort and Alan Buckley on Saturday, July 2, and Gaia Holmes, Clare Shaw, James Nash and Kate Fox on the Sunday.
The Saturday line-up for Emily’s Stage at nearby West Lane Baptist Centre includes Ilkley Young Writers and Lorna Faye Dunsire, who appeared as part of Charlotte’s bicentenary celebrations in Haworth in April.
Eddie Lawler, also known as the Bard of Saltaire, will headline Emily’s Stage on the Sunday. The event will be compered by Yorkshire favourites Craig Bradley, Geneviève L Walsh, Winston Plowes and Mark Connors of Word Club.
Performances will begin at noon each day.
Respected poets Char March, James Nash and Charlotte Wetton will run workshops over the weekend. Tickets for each cost £12 and must be booked in advance at bronte.org.uk/whats-on.
On the Sunday, Glynis Charlton will hold a free family drop-in workshop at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where there is also a pop-performance area for anyone with a point to share.
For the latest information, visit www.For further information, visit bronte.org.uk/whats-on or the Poetry at the Parsonage page on Facebook.
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