Sheaf Poetry Festival is a celebration of poetry in Sheffield. The 2023 event takes place over eight days in May. It'll bring readings, poetry walks, workshops, music and more to venues across Sheffield and out into the Peak District, as well as online.
The Sheaf Poetry Festival three themes for 2023 are: Activism, Brains and Consciousness, and Access to the Outdoors. Read on for our top picks from the lineup, and see the full programme for more.
Sheaf Poetry Festival 2023 highlights:
Join the Dead Women Poets Society in the fitting location of the General Cemetery's Samuel Worth Chapel for a Friday evening of cut-up poetry and zine making inspired by women poets who wrote before us. Following the workshop, Dead Poets Society will hold a poetry ‘séance’ (ticketed separately). Poet Charlotte Shevchenko Knight will 'resurrect' the words of Ukrainian activist and writer Lesia Ukrainka, while Safia Khan will also resurrect a female poet of her choice, followed by an open mic.
Explore radical, social and political poetry at Speaking up: Poetry as Activism (in person or online). With three poets who respond to social inequalities in their work: Inua Ellams, Fran Lock and Stephen Lightbown.
Head out on the Occupation Lane poetry walk in semi-rural Loxley with Rob Hindle. The walk draws on poems Rob wrote as he got to know his local paths more than ever before during Covid lockdown, and explores the relationships we make with our familiar places.
Young people aged 15 to 25, internationally renowned poet Yomi Ṣode invites you to develop your writing skills in a session hosted by Hive South Yorkshire at Theatre Deli.
Explore how access to the outdoors can be limited by class, disability and race, with poets Polly Atkin, L Kiew and Jonathan Davidson and musicians Lucy and Hazel in This Land is Our Land (in person or online).
Join Sheffield's former poet laureate Warda Yassin and others for the launch of Tunes of Enchantment. This new anthology features the writing of a group of women with roots in Nigeria, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Iran, supported by mental health charity Sheffield Flourish.
It all winds up on Sunday evening with a closing party in the company of a top lineup of Sheffield-based poets and musicians (in person or online). Featuring poetry from Helen Mort, Rachel Bower and Sile Sibanda, music from Rosey PM, and an open mic (sign up in advance).
Ticket prices for individual events vary, with free tickets available for those who can't afford to pay. Passes are available for the closing weekend – £30 for the full weekend, £20 per day for Saturday or Sunday only.
- Featured in
- Sheffield Festivals Guide
