City to host and inspire poetry week

With an international line-up and new work inspired by Canterbury, the Sounds New Poetry Festival from May 2 to 8 promises to be the best yet.

Founded in 2011 and organised by the University of Kent’s centres for Modern Poetry and Creative Writing, this annual event invites prominent poets to work alongside major composers and musicians to showcase the best in experimental writing.

This year’s programme will feature leading international poets Jeff Hilson, Harriet Tarlo and Carol Watts, as well as Kat Peddie and Eleanor Perry from ZONE – a Canterbury-based collection of writers and critics who also produce a bi-annual magazine of poetry.

Together with critically acclaimed poets from the University’s School of English, including David Herd, Patricia Debney, Ben Hickman, Nancy Gaffield and Juha Virtanen, they will explore the fabric and history of the city, introducing new and compelling work inspired by its sites and stories.

Audiences will be able to attend a variety of readings, residencies, screenings, performances and talks at venues such as Eastbridge Hospital, the Roman Museum, the Beaney Museum, and St Thomas’s Church.

Evening readings will take place at Mrs Jones’ Kitchen and will feature Áine Belton, Ian Brinton, Laurie Duggan and Dorothy Lehane, among others, who will appear alongside musicians in collaboration with Canterbury’s prize-winning Free Range performance series.

Prof David Herd, director of Kent’s Centre for Modern Poetry, said: “Sounds New Poetry 2014 has the idea of the city at its heart. Thinking about what it means to visit and to be resident, poets will perform specially commissioned work written in response to some of the city’s defining sites.”

Full programme details are available at www.soundsnew. org.uk/sounds-new-poetry