Poetry in Aldeburgh 2019

Poetry in Aldeburgh have just published their programme for the 2019 festival (8th-10th November), and it's exceptional (see here). Not only is it richly diverse and littered with famous names, but it also features some excellent poets who sometimes don't receive the recognition that they deserve, such as Charlotte Gann and Oliver Comins, both of whom have featured on Rogue Strands over the past few months.

I wish I could attend myself, but I'm already committed to three events later on that month in Birmingham, Oxford and London (more news in due course) and I can't manage two trips over in such quick succession. However, following last year's amazing experience in Aldeburgh, I can only recommend a visit to the festival if you're closer than I am...!

A postscript to Poetry in Aldeburgh

Over at the Poetry School blog, Danne Jobin has posted an excellent round-up of Poetry in Aldeburgh. I was especially pleased to read the following about my reading: 

"We were greeted with glasses of red at the door as it turns out that in addition to writing poetry, Matthew Stewart also blends wine he imports from Spain. Sipping while listening to Stewart’s wine-themed poems, I wondered whether we might concoct such synaesthetic poetry experiences more often."

Suffice to say, I couldn't agree more! You can read the round-up in full by following this link.

What a fortnight!

If last week saw me doing a whistle-stop tour of Chichester, London and Aldeburgh, this week has seen me back in Extremadura, racing to keep up with orders of wine and olive oil for Christmas.

Only now can I pause for breath and start looking back on an terrific reading in London, followed by a packed event at Poetry in Aldeburgh. I was going to mention the brilliant people I met in the course of my travels, but such a list would run to a huge paragraph. Suffice to say, it was the best week of my life in poetry.

However, perhaps the best news of all is that the inaugural Rogue Strands reading generated 324 pounds for the Trussell Trust in aid of food banks. That's down to my co-organiser, Mat Riches, whose idea it was to raise those funds!

And now to Aldeburgh...

Just a quick post as I gather my stuff together in readiness for the drive up to Aldeburgh following yesterday's terrific evening at The Rugby Tavern. The range of voices was wide, but they all complemented each other with an unusual synergy, so thanks are due to all our readers - Fiona Moore, Jessica Mookherjee and Kathryn Gray - plus the open-mic poets and my co-organiser, Mat Riches, who also gave a top-notch reading.

And now to plot my reading on Sunday, revolving around food and wine. Bearing in mind my love for the subject, that shouldn't be too tough. Again, I'd love to see you there!

Recipes and poems

While thinking about my event at Poetry in Aldeburgh next weekend (where I'll be reading poems with a gastronomic and oenological slant) I was reminded how recipes resemble poems. Once you show them to other people, they cease to be yours and take on new interpretations.

Tickets for Poetry in Aldeburgh

With little more than three weeks to go, tickets for Poetry in Aldeburgh are selling fast. A quick look at their website (see here) tells you that several of the workshops have already sold out, although seats are still available for all the readings.

As for my own event, it's titled "Poetry of Food and Cooking", and will take place in the Peter Pears Gallery on Sunday 4th November at 1 p.m.. Helena Nelson will be introducing Alison Brackenbury, Rosie Sheppard and myself, and there's also sure to be a drop of free Spanish wine on show, maybe even from deepest Extremadura.

The build-up to the festival is an exciting time: I've already got tickets for several events apart from mine, and I'm now weighing up whether to fill up my timetable even more or leave some gaps to relish the people and place as well as the poetry itself...

My reading at Poetry in Aldeburgh

Sixteen years after my first visit to the festival as a member of the audience, I can't quite believe that I'll be giving a reading myself at Poetry in Aldeburgh 2018.

I'll be appearing alongside Helena Nelson, Alison Brackenbury and Rosie Shepperd on Sunday 4th November at 1 p.m. in the Peter Pears Gallery in a slot titled "Poetry of Food and Cooking". Suffice to say, wine might also play a part at some point!

I'm very grateful to Paul Stephenson, The Poetry School and Poetry in Aldeburgh for this opportunity, and I'm also looking forward to attending lots of other top-notch readings during the festival. You can view the programme in full on the festival website here.