The fifth Ted Hughes Poetry Festival takes place between 11-15 September with an exciting and diverse programme of events in and around Mexborough, including readings and performances from acclaimed poets Ian McMillan, Hollie McNish and Raymond Antrobus.

On Saturday 31 August, we ‘raise the curtain’ with a poetry walk along the Stainforth and Keadby canal to the eastern edge of South Yorkshire, led by Brian Lewis. The festival gets underway on Wednesday 11 September with a rousing launch event at Mexborough Business Centre featuring Ian McMillan, Suzannah Evans and Write On Mexborough! On Thursday 12 September, we have dynamic performances from award-winning poets Hollie McNish and Steve Nash, followed by an unmissable evening with Andrew McMillan, Isaiah Hull and Young Identity on Friday 13 September.

Saturday 14 September offers the opportunity to take part in a range of activities, starting with a landscape-themed workshop led by Antony Dunn, and a workshop for young writers, exploring themes of transformation and reinvention, led by Vicky Morris (followed by our popular ‘Democracy of Words’ collective performance on Mexborough High Street). In the afternoon, poet/academic Yvonne Reddick reads from her work and, with fellow poet/academic Steve Ely, discusses the eco-poetic dimensions of her own work and the status and importance of Ted Hughes as an ecopoet. Our second afternoon event at Mexborough Business Centre is a Valley Press showcase with poets Antony Dunn, Penny Boxall and Robert Powell, exploring landscapes, animals, nature and all aspects of the human condition.
A must-see double-bill of acclaimed poets Raymond Antrobus and Claire Shaw brings Saturday’s programme to a fitting conclusion.

On Sunday 15 September, we revisit the paths and perspectives of Ted Hughes’s Paper Round (recently featured on Radio 4’s The Echo Chamber) led by Steve Ely and Dominic Somers: a performance trail in the footsteps of the young Hughes, from Mexborough to Old Denaby, with readings along the route.

Click here to view the full festival programme and to book tickets. We look forward to seeing you.