What's On

Browse four days of gala readings, live radio broadcasts, TV and film screenings, music gigs and open mic nights, first edition readings, outreach activity, discussion sessions, cultural tours and workshops.

6 Music: Cerys Matthews
10:00 - 13:00

Cerys Matthews draws on her eclectic music tastes to bring you the best in spoken word and performance poetry. This brings an exciting conclusion to the BBC’s live broadcasts from the Contains Strong Language Season.

Hull College | Map
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Imtiaz Dharker
11:00 - 12:00

Imtiaz Dharker is a poet, artist and documentary-maker. She was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2014, recipient of the Cholmondeley Award and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her poems are also featured on the British GCSE syllabus and A Level English syllabus.

Kadomah94 | Map
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1st Edition Reading: Peter Didsbury
11:30 - 12:30

Peter Didsbury will be undertaking a poetry reading from some of the British Library archive of first edition poetry books. Peter was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire, but moved to Hull as a child. He was educated at Hull and Oxford and has worked as an archaeologist. His work follows a quirkier and more philosophical style than that of his contemporaries, and has been a potent influence on younger Hull poets. His Scenes from a Long Sleep: New and Collected Poems was published in 2003.

Hull Central Library | Map
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Pansy Boy & Louise Wallwein
12:15 - 14:00

Pansy Boy is a creative extension of Paul Harfleet’s on-going artwork, The Pansy Project. He has been planting pansies at the site of homophobia since 2005. The Pansy Project has featured in many exhibitions and festivals around the world. Notably his Pansy Project Garden won a gold medal at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2010. Paul will be joined by Louise Wallwein who launches her first poetry collection, Glue.

Kardomah94| Map
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Scratch Workshop
14:00 - 16:00

Scratch clubs are safe spaces where performance poets at any stage of their career can get together to try out new material and receive peer feedback. Scratch Hull will be facilitated by Apples and Snakes producer Kirsten Luckins, but will only flourish thanks to the generosity of participating Hull poets sharing their skills, experience and supportive critique.

Hull Central Library | Map
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Helen Mort & Michael Symmons Roberts
14:30 - 15:45

Readings from Fenton Aldeburgh Prize winner Helen Mort, and Whitbread Poetry Award winner Michael Symmons Roberts. As well as poetry, Helen also writes creative non-fiction and is working on her first novel. Michael, who is professor of poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, reads from his latest collection Mancunia.

Kardomah94| Map
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Hull '17 Gala: Part 2
14:30 - 16:00

This special event split over two nights (Part 1 is on Thursday 28 September) is a Gala showcase of the work of the Hull ‘17 Contains Strong Language poets. This is an unbeatable opportunity to hear a diverse range of work from our resident festival writers.

Hull College | Map
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• Meet the Hull '17 poets

Hannah Silva and Vicky Foster
16:00 - 17:15

Readings from Hannah Silva and Vicky Foster. Hannah is known for her innovative explorations of form, voice and language in performance and has been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. Vicky hosts Women of Words; an event for female performers of poetry, prose, drama and song, and is the founder of Trinity Hub.

Kardomah94 | Map
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Matt Caley and Brendan Cleary
17:30 - 18:45

Readings from acclaimed poets Brendan Cleary and Matthew Caley. Originally from County Antrim, Brendan has published many collections from a variety of presses. He currently lives and writes in Brighton, and edits The Echo Room. Matthew’s first collection Thirst was shortlisted for the Forward Prize, and he has been commended in the National Poetry Competition on multiple occasions.

Kardomah94 | Map
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Roger McGough, Brian Patten & Little Machine
18:00 - 20:00

As part of Larkin Reflections, Roger and Brian’s new show with Walter, Steve & Chris of LiTTLe MACHiNe features a fine selection of vintage, classic & surprising poems set to music. It’s a gala gig that’s making waves! 2017 sees them celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic & top-selling Penguin Modern Poets No.10: The Mersey Sound, which they shared with the much missed Adrian Henri.

University of Hull | Map
Middleton Hall
Tickets: £17-20 from hull2017.co.uk

William Letford & Fred Voss
19:00 - 20:30

Readings from Fred Voss and William Letford. After dropping out of a UCLA PhD programme, Fred worked as a busboy, a steelcutter and a machinist. The factory experience became the theme of his writing. William has taken part in translation projects through Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, and has completed successful residencies in Haileybury Imperial Service College and the Burns House Museum.

Kardomah94 | Map
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The Unthanks: How the Wind Blows
20:30 - 23:30

A wistful mother makes some simple home recordings in her family sitting room during the 1950s. Little could she have known that, more than sixty years later, the dust would be blown off her song collection. Firstly in 2013 with the release of her own recordings, and now by The Unthanks, who believe her work is extraordinary enough to rank alongside and independently of her brilliant son, Nick Drake.

The tour will be an audio visual work featuring live performance by The Unthanks, film footage of Molly Drake, a set depicting her living room in abstract fashion, and spoken word pre-recorded by Molly’s daughter, actress Gabrielle Drake. In some cases, The Unthanks in characteristically adventurous style, have drifted considerably from the ornamentations and voicings of the original songs, and at other points have yielded more faithfully. At the core in both cases lie the emotive sentiments of a unique and unheralded woman.

Jubilee Church | Map
Tickets: £25 from hull2017.co.uk