FRIDAY 13th MARCH - SUNDAY 22nd MARCH 2020 @LyraFest @LyraFest TICKETS lyrafest.com ABOUT THE FESTIVAL March 2020 is the second edition of Lyra, Bristol Poetry Festival, and we are delighted to present a radical, diverse programme focusing on climate, nature and Bristol’s legacy of Romantic Poetry. Lyra aims to present and promote poetry in as many formats as possible and this year we are FRIDAY 13th MARCH - hosting live readings, slam poetry, open mics, SUNDAY 22nd MARCH family activities, workshops, panel discussion, 2020 walking tours and a film screening. We were thrilled with the feedback on Lyra 2019 but we haven’t rested on our laurels. We asked what you would like to see more of in 2020 and we have used these responses in order to put together an even more exciting programme, including an increased number of workshops and some world-class headliners with an opening weekend that includes Simon Armitage and Danez Smith. Thank you to all our collaborators and supporters, including our ethical ticketing provider HeadFirst Bristol. Lyra 2020 has been organised largely on a voluntary basis and we are incredibly grateful to the wonderful partners who have helped to bring this radical programme to fruition. Lyra Festival is co-directed by Lucy English and Danny Pandolfi. This year’s official Festival Poet is Bristol-based writer, performer, producer and facilitator Rebecca Tantony. Rebecca is leading outreach work across the city in the build-up to Lyra 2020 in order to connect the festival to a variety of communities in Bristol and she will be engaged in a number of activities during the Core Festival Programme, including running a workshop and performing new works at Bristol Central Library, judging the Grand Slam Finals, and much more. This festival is also a proud partner of the wider city project #BristolPoeticCity, marking the 250th anniversary of Thomas Chatterton’s death. Please pre-book tickets (for both paid and free events) at lyrafest.com, as some events will sell out in advance and entry on the door may not be guaranteed. We look forward to seeing you all soon! @LyraFest TICKETS lyrafest.com Entire Festival Pass: £50 @LyraFest Festival Pass (including workshops): £65 3 VENUES CORE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME 1. Wills Memorial Building Queens Rd, Bristol BS8 1RJ Friday 13th March ’20 SIMON ARMITAGE 2. Arnolfini 16 Narrow Quay, UK POET LAUREATE T F O A poetry reading from the UK’s newly Bristol BS1 4QA R C S E appointed Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, K O T S 8 in conversation with Bristol City Poet, 3. SS Great Britain Vanessa Kisuule. BRUNSWICK Gas Ferry Rd, SQUARE WILLS MEMORIAL BUILDING Bristol BS1 6TY BOND ST GREAT HALL Time: 6:00 - 7:00pm Price: £5 4. Storysmith Bookshop QUEENS RD UNION ST The second ever Lyra Festival will launch at 49 North St, 5 7 CASTLE the iconic Great Hall at Wills Memorial Bristol BS3 1EN 9 PARK PARK 1ROW Building. Simon Armitage will deliver a 6 reading of his poetry, followed by a live conversation hosted by Bristol’s City Poet, 5. Fry Building Bristol University PARK ST Woodland Rd, 11 Vanessa Kisuule. Bristol BS8 1TH BALDWIN ST Simon Armitage will discuss his newly launched Laurel Prize for climate writing, the urgency of the arts movement in 6. THE Square Club BRANDON COLLEGE response to the climate crisis, and the role HILL GREEN PRINCE ST PRINCE QUEEN 15 Berkeley Square, 10 SQUARE of both the Poet Laureate and live poetry in Bristol BS8 1HB ANCHOR RD 2020. The event will include a short audience Q&A 2 THE GROVE and be immediately followed by a 7. Waterstones 3 RD WAPPING book signing. The Galleries, Presented in association with Bristol Bristol BS1 3XD Poetry Institute and University of CUMBERLAND RD Bristol Department of English. 8. Unitarian Hall CORONATION RD Brunswick Square, Bristol BS2 8PE 9. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Queens Rd, BEDMINSTER PARADE Bristol BS8 1RL 4 10. Bristol Central Library College Green, Bristol BS1 5TL 11. St. George’s BristoL Great George St, Bristol BS1 5RR CREDIT: Peter James Millson 4 5 @LyraFest @LyraFest TICKETS lyrafest.com SATURday 14TH March '20 ROMANTIC BRISTOL LYRA SLAM WALKING TOUR POETRY AND CLIMATE QUALIFYING ROUNDS Discover Bristol’s poetic legacy in this FILM SCREENING Three afternoon qualifying heats, as 24 poets engaging guided walk, led by ARNOLFINI THEATRE compete for a place in the evening Grand Professor Ralph Pite. Final. Time: 1:00 - 2:00pm Price: Free MEETING POINT: OUTSIDE WILLS ARNOLFINI LIGHT STUDIO Curated by Liberated Words, these MEMORIAL BUILDING short poetry films will reflect on the Time: 1:30 - 2:00, 2:30 - 3:00, 3:30 - 4:00pm Time: 12:00 - 1:00pm Price: £5 current climate emergency, as well Price: Free A guided tour of some key landmarks for the as celebrate the natural world. Plus The Bristol Poetry Festival Slam is back and history and legacy of Romantic poets in Bristol. short discussion on the rising genre these afternoon events co-presented with The walk will use smart technology to explore the of poetry film and how artists and Hammer and Tongue will see some of the city, its layered histories, its cultural complexity poets are responding to region’s finest poets and performers compete and the voices of its poets, past and present. You our changing for a place in the evening’s grand slam final. can download the free smartphone app environment. Come along to cheer on the poets, and see ‘ROMANTIC BRISTOL: Writing the City’ in With Lucy English and which performers qualify for the Grand Final. advance of the tour and find your way to Bristol, Sarah Tremlett. old and new. Part of #BristolPoeticCity. DANEZ SMITH WRITING MASTERCLASS Join one of the world’s leading poets for an eye-opening insight into expert writing techniques. PROSE POETRY LYRA SLAM BRISTOL MUSEUM AND PERFORMANCE/OPEN MIC GRAND FINAL ART GALLERY A fascinating exploration into one of the The epic slam final for Lyra 2020, with most experimental sub-genres of poetry, performances from Danez Smith and ACTIVITY ROOM, with exquisite performances from leading Kat Lyons. FIRST FLOOR prose poets. ARNOLFINI THEATRE Time: 1:00 - 3:00pm WILLS MEMORIAL BUILDING Time: 7:30 - 10:00pm Price: £10 Price: £10 THE OLD COUNCIL CHAMBER After a raucous sell-out event last year, Lyra is back with another huge slam An exclusive poetry writing Time: 5:00 - 7:00pm Price: £5/£4 Concs. final, as winners from the afternoon masterclass with Forward Prize- Lyra welcomes performances from Carrie show compete for the coveted crown of winning writer and Button Etter, Luke Kennard and Vik Shirley, in an 2020’s Bristol Poetry Festival Slam Poetry star Danez Smith. exploration of the prose poetry genre. The Champion. The event will feature an Learn some expert exercises, event will also feature a short panel extended performance from the techniques and methods of discussion about the role and definition of incomparable Forward Prize-winning expression with an prose poetry, and an open mic element Poet and world-class performer Danez internationally acclaimed writer. for any poets wishing to share their own Smith, plus a support set from last year’s prose poem. Open mic tickets must be epic slam winner Kat Lyons. Hosted by purchased online in advance for this event. Josie Alford and Callum Wensley. 6 7 @LyraFest @LyraFest TICKETS lyrafest.com SUNDAY 15TH March '20 MONDAY 16TH March '20 ROMANTIC BRISTOL MATHS AND POETRY WALKING TOUR WORKSHOP COLERIDGE & Join poets Rebecca Kosick and Harry Baker for an engaging and interactive workshop connecting maths WORDSWORTH and poetry. Accessible and open to all. An engaging guided walk, discovering the legacy of two legendary poets of the FRY BUILDING (ROOM G13) Romantic era. Led by Professor Ralph Pite. UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL MEETING POINT: OUTSIDE Time: 5:30 - 7:00pm Price: £5 Is it possible to write a maths poem? Undoubtedly, WILLS MEMORIAL BUILDING mathematics has the capacity to express complex and Time: 12:00 - 1:00pm Price: £5 abstract ideas, but is it possible to convey the kinds of complex and abstract thought more often found in A guided tour using smart technology to poetry than in mathematical notation? Is one able to explore the city, its layered histories, its express the small joy of a cup of tea, the closeness of cultural complexity and the voices of its an intimate relationship, the nuanced humour of a poets, with a particular focus on Samuel shared joke through mathematical formulations? Coleridge and William Wordsworth. The pair had been living in Bristol and the South Open to writers of all levels/backgrounds. West when their revolutionary book, Lyrical Ballads, was published. This walk connects a key work on English literature to the city and POETRY AND MUSIC FOR region which produced it. You can download REIMAGINED FUTURES the free smartphone app ‘ROMANTIC CLIMATE ACTION BRISTOL: Writing the City’ in advance of the POETRY AND STORIES Leading South-West poetry providers tour and find your way to Bristol, old and An afternoon of interactive, drop-in new. Part of #BristolPoeticCity. Raise the Bar and Hip Yak Poetry present family activities at the Brunel Institute, an evening of breathtaking performances aimed at children and young people live at St. George’s Bristol. POETS 4 THE PLANET aged 4-12 and their families. ST. GEORGE’S BRISTOL A collaborative performance, as six BRUNEL'S SS GREAT BRITAIN poets perform dynamic new work Time: 1:00 - 3:00pm Price: Free Time: 7:30 - 10:00pm Price: £8 responding to the climate crisis in the A high-energy, high-quality and eclectic intimate setting of Storysmith Where will your imagination take you? evening of outstanding and powerful bookshop.