Join us to celebrate the life and work of poet and writer Edward Thomas at the Edward Thomas Literary Festival: Prose, Poetry and Birdsong.
Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery will be hosting the fourth Edward Thomas Literary Festival with events running from 3 October – 12 October 2024, coinciding with the final week of the record-breaking exhibition, Peggy Guggenheim: Petersfield to Palazzo.
The Edward Thomas Literary Festival brings acclaimed poets and scholars to Petersfield for in-person and digital events. The Festival also includes free and family events to bring the beauty of poetry and nature to everyone.
Highlights for 2024 include Michael Longley, former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, Alice Oswald, Mathew Hollis, Jessica Mookherjee, Isobel Dixon, Yvonne Reddick, Ellora Sutton, Sarah Doyle, Enda Longley and more! The Edward Thomas Literary Festival hosts a range of talks and discussions to creative workshops to hone your wordsmithing skills to free family events to encourage poets of all ages to get involved.
The Edward Thomas Literary Festival celebrates the life and work of Edward Thomas, a literary critic, essayist, writer and poet who lived locally in Steep from 1906-1916. His reputation as a nature poet set within the landscape of the South Downs has increased greatly and his posthumous influence on the development of English verse is now widely recognised.
Programme Highlights
- Join former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion and Alice Oswald in their shared appreciation of Edward Thomas, the use of birdsong in poetry and their own works in 2 Poets, 1 Conversation.
- Tap into your creativity with acclaimed poet Isobel Dixon and artist Douglas Robertson as they share their collaborative art-poetry process in A Whistling of Birds: Poetry-Art Workshop.
- Enjoy poetry readings throughout the week by distinguished poets Michael Longley, Jessica Mookherjee, Yvonne Reddick, Ellora Sutton, Sarah Doyle, Timothy Adès and more in A Brunch of Poets and Afternoon of Poetry.
- Ready to take the mic? Take part in our Poetry Open Mic Night where we turn the mic over to the public to share their own poetry.
- We have something for the whole family with our Creative Saturday: Inspired by the Word and Macavity and Friends Performance Poetry. Save your spot for these free events that will get the whole family inspired by poetry.
Join Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery in celebrating the beauty of nature and poetry. Book in advance to avoid any disappointment, and get ready for two weeks of exciting poetry and writing events!
The Edward Thomas Literary Festival: Prose, Poetry and Birdsong is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Discover the Edward Thomas Literary Festival Events Programme: