Between July 19th and 25th, Leeds was treated to a week of poetry and spoken word, thanks to Leeds Poetry Festival.
The Festival, which included open mic nights, performances by local poets and performers, and workshops, was hosted at venues across the City. I attended a couple of the events to get a feel for what the Festival was all about.
On Wednesday evening, I cycled down to Hyde Park Book Club for the first of two evenings of poetry. Although the event was due to start at 6, there were some delays with set up, possibly due to the heat of the day, and also the number of people in attendance, and so the evening didn’t kick off until 7pm.
Performers included urban and traditional poets, spoken word performers and musicians, and were well worth the wait. It was my first time attending a poetry event, and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I enjoyed listening to the stories that the performers shared, in particular those who captured their experiences during COVID-19 and the challenges that they faced.
On Thursday evening, I headed over to Left Bank for the ‘At Home in our City’ anthology launch. Left Bank, as usual, had been beautifully decorated with lights, carefully arranged seating and bunting. I found a seat at the back of the space in one of the cushioned cubby holes, a good place to enjoy the performances. The event itself, which started at 7pm, included performances from some of the poets that contributed to the anthology. I enjoyed hearing the creative ways in which the poets captured life in Yorkshire, sharing insights from their day to day lives and family histories. I particularly liked how many of the poets enhanced their performances with humour and how their Yorkshire accents added to their work. The evening was a true celebration of the City, and the Yorkshire region.
There were lots of other events that took place across the week, including an open mic night and waffle bar at Left Bank, a day of poetry in the garden, also at Left Bank – and a series of creative writing workshops to support those in Leeds with ambitions to become writers. Next time, I’ll be sure to set aside more of the dates to absorb and enjoy this cultural treat.
Photography by Erin Cooper-Jones.
