Tunbridge Wells Poetry Festival

After careful consideration we have decided not to run another Festival. Since 2019 we have held three successful Poetry Festivals. Our mission was to make poetry accessible to a wider community, particularly those who had not engaged with it previously or were put off at school. We feel confident that we have achieved this, with a variety of events to promote participation in open mics, attract audiences to performances, incorporate disadvantaged groups, and engage families with age-appropriate activities for all. Our open mic showcases attracted poets and poetry groups from around the region, demonstrating the appeal of poetry across the Southeast. Additionally, our workshops and performances featured online and live contributions from America, France and Italy, as well as engaging with publishers and presses both local and international.

The measure of our success can be seen in a noticeable increase in interest in poetry among the wider population. The local open mic scene has benefitted greatly from the opportunities offered by our “Poets in the Pub” evenings, with such events now well represented by the revived, expanded and highly successful WordUp! format as well as in TW Fringe listings. The Borough Council, in the guise of the Amelia and the TW Literary Festival, who have steadfastly refused to work with us, have nonetheless stepped into the arena with a day of poetry as part of this year’s Literary Festival, and a bill of fare showcasing poets and events that have previously graced our stages. The organisers have obviously become aware of the effect of our work in raising awareness in the local community. As they enjoy a far larger budget than we could ever hope for and access to all the town’s major venues, we are delighted to hand the baton on. We look forward to bigger and better things next year.

The work of the Festival is not yet complete. We have funds carried forward which we propose to use for funding “Poetry for All, Big or Small” in schools, community spaces and other public arenas. These will probably be in the form of funded workshops, but we will consider other requests to fund poetry-related projects. We hope to have distributed these funds by the end of June 2025. Application criteria will be forthcoming, please check back regularly.

We end by thanking everyone who has given us their support since we began, in particular the Kent & Sussex Poetry Society. It has been a pleasure to have served you all.

With very best wishes,

The TWPF committee: Peppy Scott. David Smith, Faye Belton, Kevin Scully, Charlie Bell