Search this site

Ways to sponsor Poetry Culture with VERVE Poetry Festival. Sponsoring VERVE is more than visibility — it’s a strategic alignment with values that matter: culture, creativity, community, and access. Whether you’re supporting a headline event, a foyer space of live art and poetry, a development programme for young poets, or our free-to-access open mics — your brand is seen, felt, and appreciated. VERVE FESTIVAL of POETRY & SPOKEN WORD WHAT WE DO We platform emerging voices and bring internationally acclaimed poets to Birmingham. We champion access, equity, and innovation in poetry. We believe that poetry can be an agent for connection, care, cultural representation and joy. 'VERVE is one of Britain's finest literary festivals bringing the most exciting new and experienced poets to enthusiastic audiences. One of my favourite festivals anywhere!' - Daljit Nagra radio presenter of the weekly Poetry Extra on Radio 4 Extra, former Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, Council of Society of Authors, national advisor to Poetry By Heart, and a PBS New Generation Poet. WHAT WE DELIVER 16 FESTIVAL EVENTS 20 IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS 50+ POETS & PERFORMERS 2000+ TICKETS SOLD FOOTFALL 500 ONLINE PARTICIPANTS 5,930 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS 400+ POETRY BOOKS SOLD 400+ POETRY BOOKS SOLD of LIVE EVENTS 3600+ £5000 REDISTRIBUTED TO EARLY-CAREER POETS/WRITERS 5 DAYS WHO WE SERVE YOU BELONG HERE!! Emerging poets and writers both nationally and internationally Practicing professional poets and spoken word artists Curious readers and seasoned poetry lovers Young poets aged 16–25 Primary and secondary school children across Birmingham. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. CELEBRATING INCLUSIVE / DIVERSE / EXPERIMENTAL AUDIENCES + POETRY Our audience is as diverse as our poetry, reflecting a tapestry of multicultural, multigender, diasporic, international, and hyper-local communities - everyone is welcomed with open arms. 'VERVE Poetry Festival Stands at the beating heart of all that is poetry, and all that might be. Bibrant, alive, provactive and curious - we need more festivals like this.' - Joelle Taylor Joelle Taylor is the T. S. Eliot Prize-winning poet, former UK Slam Champion, and founder of SLAMbassadors, whose work has electrified international stages and earned her an MBE for services to poetry. WHAT WE NEED We’re building something meaningful, but we can’t do it alone. VERVE is a Community Interest Company run by working artists. Our ambition is always bigger than our budget. The economic climate for culture has diminished after decades of austerity, and though we have continued to evolve and establish new ground due to our personal commitment, we've done so sacrificially because we love what we do so much. To grow sustainably, remain accessible, and continue championing new voices, we need support. YOUR SPONSORSHIP HELPS US TO: Provide outreach and education to young and emerging writers Run accessible, inclusive, and representative programming Commission and publish new work Document and share voices from the Midlands and beyond Keep ticket prices low and workshops accessible Offer opportunities to underrepresented communities Provide long-term development for emerging artists Platform new literature and amplify unheard voices Cover core production, print, access, and documentation costs WHAT YOU GET Sponsoring VERVE is more than visibility — it’s a strategic alignment with values that matter: culture, creativity, community, and access. Whether you’re supporting a headline event, a foyer space of live art and poetry, a development programme for young poets, or our free-to-access open mics — your brand is seen, felt, and appreciated. BRAND EXPOSURE: 3,600+ estimated festival footfall across 5 days 2,000+ tickets sold to a wide-ranging, culture-engaged audience 5,930 email subscribers with above-industry-average open rates 500+ online participants through streamed events and digital workshops Presence across 16 live events and 20 workshops Branded signage at your sponsored event or space Name/logo on printed programme, booking pages, and digital ads Mentions across VERVE’s social platforms (Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook) Your team included in our post-festival impact report STRATEGIC VALUE: Clear alignment with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), ESG (Environmental Social Governance) or community investment targets Fulfilment of your culture, education or wellbeing objectives Demonstrable support for diverse, inclusive, and accessible programming Partnership with a CIC (Community Interest Company) with national recognition Opportunities for team engagement via tickets, workshops, or hosted events Association with a vibrant, critically acclaimed arts festival SPONSOR-ABLE FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES SCHOOL SLAM *a yearly initiative engaging schools across the city in writing & performing poetry. IMMERSIVE FESTIVAL ATRIUM *poetry on demand / poetry game / pop-up bookshop. POETRY COMPETITION *culminating in a published anthology every year! POETRY CINEMA FILM NIGHT *with popcorn! *selected from films submitted to our competition. THE POETRY SCHOOL LIVE POETRY LECTURES *alternative page-poetry lectures exploring history's, herstory's, contemporary culture, form, craft + practice. YOUNG PEOPLES DAY FESTIVAL *spin off micro-fest within VERVE to encourage children. POETRY IN PERFORMANCE WIP EVENT *celebrating & encouraging experimental live poetry. DAILY FEATURED POET HEADLINERS *festival favourite celebrating new works in poetry from professional poets with audience Q+A. CONCURRENT ONLINE *STREAMED* FESTIVAL ALL DAY OPEN MIC THE BIG GAY POETRY NIGHT 22 IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS *SPONSORABLE YEAR-LONG COMMUNITY PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES MONTHLY COMMUNITY OPEN MIC *providing a platform for everyone to share: a tradjectory in career development. COMMUNITY WRITING GROUPS *working to support mental health, language, communication & expression. POEM OF THE MONTH *a monthly poetry competition paying poets for their poems as well as providing exposure. BIRMINGHAMS POETRY COLLECTIVE *the only poetry development programme in the west-midlands outside of formal education sustaining a strong poetry community for the city. QUARTERLY SPOKEN WORD NIGHTS *presenting national/international poets with local talent & emerging poets. ONLINE POETRY WORKSHOPS *accessible seasonal workshops providing work for poets, and high quality practice development for our audience. HOW SPONSORSHIP WORKS Sponsorship with VERVE is flexible and impact-driven. You can choose to sponsor a specific part of the festival, like a headline performance, the festival atrium, a day of workshops or support a wider programme that runs throughout the year. Opportunities range from £500–£2,000, depending on scale, visibility, and impact. You might choose to: Sponsor a single event or workshop Fund an element of our outreach or mentoring programmes Invest in access costs (e.g. free ticketing, BSL, travel bursaries) Brand a space, stage, or printed product Support an entire strand of year-round programming We work with you to shape the partnership so it supports your goals — whether you're focused on education, visibility, wellbeing, or giving back to your community. You choose the focus. We make it visible, meaningful, and aligned. 'VERVE has hand-crafted community, aspiration and pride in the Birmingham poetry and spoken word scene out of pure passion, quirk and creative ideas over the past almost-decade. VERVE is a central reason why Birmingham is seen as a centre and beacon for poetry and development.' - Jazmine Gardosi Jasmine Gardosi is a previous Birmingham Poet Laureate, a BBC Words First finalist, and the 2021 UK Slam Champion, known for her electrifying performances blending poetry, beatboxing, and gender identity. WHO WE WORK WITH OUR MISSION Through a dynamic and thought-provoking programme of performances, workshops, and discussions, we aim to nurture creativity, amplify marginalised voices, and recognise established artists while providing a platform for new writers. We showcase the richness and vitality of contemporary poetry, championing a vibrant community that values artistic expression, cultivates empathy, and encourages dialogue. OUR VISION The vision of VERVE Poetry Festival is to be a beacon for contemporary poetry, inspiring a diverse and inclusive community where artistic expression thrives, marginalised voices are heard, and the transformative power of poetry initiates empathy, dialogue, and positive social change. We aspire to create a lasting impact on the literary world, empowering individuals to boldly explore and develop their craft while celebrating the richness and vitality of poetic expression. VERVE's POETRY LEGACY: LEARNING INITIATIVE VERVE's Learning Initiative is a multifaceted educational program designed to engage learners of all ages and backgrounds in the art of poetry. We offer workshops, lectures, and retreats (a future incentive) aimed at nurturing creativity, developing literary skills, and building community, from introductory poetry workshops for beginners to advanced masterclasses for seasoned writers, there's something for everyone to explore and enjoy. Our educational offerings extend beyond the traditional classroom setting, with opportunities for experiential learning and hands-on participation through outreach programs and collaborations with schools, libraries, and community organisations. We strive to make poetry accessible for the next generation of poets and spoken word artists. Through our school slam program , we ignite a passion for poetry in young minds by engaging with over 500 children each year. By providing mentorship, resources, and opportunities for self-expression, we empower students to find their voice and share their stories through the power of spoken word. Our school slam initiative not only fosters creativity and confidence but also cultivates empathy, critical thinking, and communication skills , laying the foundation for lifelong learning and personal growth. Partnering with the Poetry Society's Young Poets Network , we offer a platform for emerging voices to shine. Through our free competitions, performance opportunities in the festival program, and professional workshops, we provide young poets with the tools, support, and recognition they need to thrive. 'Being at the Verve Poetry Festival feels like an instant buzz of energy. It comes from every direction: the vibrant diversity of the audiences, the imaginative programming, the connection with other poets at every stage in their careers. It is the poetry festival that Birmingham richly deserves'. - Imtiaz Dharker Multi-award-winning poet, artist and filmmaker, recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, former Chancellor of Newcastle University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, whose work has been studied on the UK national curriculum. EMERGING POETRY ANTHOLOGIES Annual VERVE poetry festival competitions have birthed 8 anthologies, nurturing emerging poets and capturing the essence of each festival. These collections explore a diverse range of voices and experiences, and stand testament to our commitment to presenting new artists. OUR STORY Born from a Twitter idea, VERVE Poetry & Spoken Word Festival has blossomed into a beacon of creativity and community in Birmingham. Since 2017, VERVE has been synonymous with lively programming, inclusive spaces, and a vibrant celebration of poetry in all its glory. 2017: The inaugural VERVE Poetry Festival launches in Birmingham, aiming to celebrate contemporary poetry with a diverse array of performances and workshops hosted in WATERSTONE's with a broken lift, tiny budget but packed full of diverse poets. 2018: Building on its initial success, the festival expands its programming, attracting a larger audience and featuring more poets so stepping up in the world into THE OLD REP THEATRE! 2019: VERVE continues to grow, showcasing an even broader range of poets and workshops, solidifying its place in the poetry community. 2020: Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, VERVE adapts and successfully hosts virtual events, maintaining its vibrant spirit and community engagement. 2022: VERVE collaborates with the BBC for the Contains Strong Language Festival in Birmingham, enhancing its reach and impact. 2023: The festival returns with in-person events from February 15th to 19th, continuing its mission to support and celebrate contemporary poetry. 2024: Year of the collective, a pilot development programme for practicing poets with performance opportunities and career advancement + a festival first RUN YOUR POWERTRY TO THE MUSIC platforming community grass-root poetry events Run Your Mouth, Empower Poetry, Tell it to the Music + The Poetry Hotel. 2025: Biggest selling festival. Platform for THE BIG GAY POETRY NIGHT. Becoming a CIC. Launching POEM OF THE MONTH + community driven SUBSTACK offering insights, behind the scenes info and a publishing space for our poetry community. WANT TO SUPPORT VERVE? We’d love to build a partnership that’s as creative as the festival itself. Whether you’re interested in sponsoring a specific event, a strand of programming, or year-round development work — get in touch. BECOME A SPONSORED PARTNER

< Back Bring your writing home & write the ordinary extraordinarily 🪑✨ ✍️ Saturday - 9:30am MAKING THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Birmingham, UK During this session we'll be looking at writing inspired by The Everyday. This is a chance to work in a close & relaxed group & mix up your writing with some lovely prompts & surprises. Perfect YOU time to get cosy & open those notebooks. All levels welcome! 🏡🥄 🍽 ABOUT THE POET Laurie Bolger is an acclaimed English poet, stand-up and presenter based in London. She was shortlisted for Young Poet Laureate of London in 2014 and won the 2023 International Book & Pamphlet Competition judged by Hannah Lowe. Bolger tours her writing, including her debut pamphlet collection 'Makeover, Spin and Box Rooms', and has performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Old Vic Theatre, and St Paul's Cathedral. WORKSHOP £24.50 / £18.50 Saturday - 9:30am Book Tickets

< Back Write poems that speak to the most formative relationship we will ever experience. Sunday - 12:30pm A FAMILY AFFAIR Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Birmingham, UK In this generative poetry workshop we’ll explore and interrogate what family, and our subsequent attachment styles, might mean for us in our poems. How can we use this relationship to expand our understanding of communal and individual experiences? What unique and formative language did we learn from our family of origin that we can employ in our work? In this workshop we’ll read and study a wide range of poems from traditional and contemporary poets around this subject and write poems that speak to the most formative relationship we will ever experience. ABOUT THE POET Victoria Kennefick is a poet, writer and teacher from Shanagarry, Co. Cork now based in Co. Kerry. Her first collection, Eat or We Both Starve , was published by Carcanet Press in March 2021. It won the Seamus Heaney Prize for Best First Collection 2022 and The Dalkey Literary Festival Emerging Writer of the Year Award 2022. It was also shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, The Costa Poetry Book Award, The Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry and The Butler Literary Prize. It was a a Book of the Year in The Guardian , T he Irish Times , The Sunday Independent and The White Review , and was also selected as one of The Telegraph 's Best Poetry Books to Buy 2021. Her pamphlet, White Whale (Southword Editions, 2015), won the Munster Literature Centre Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition and the Saboteur Award for Best Poetry Pamphlet. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The Poetry Review, PN Review, Poetry Ireland Review, The Stinging Fly, Poetry News, Prelude, Copper Nickel, The Irish Times, Ambit, bath magg, Banshee, Bad Lilies, PBLJ and elsewhere. She won the 2013 Red Line Book Festival Poetry Prize and many of her poems have also been anthologised and broadcast on national radio stations. WORKSHOP £24.50 / £18.50 Sunday - 12:30pm Book Tickets

POETRY FRIDAY NIGHT HEADLINE EVENT Dzifa Benson, Anthony Joseph, Richard Scott with host Helen Bowell LOCATION BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ABOUT THE EVENT TIME Friday - 8:30pm PRICE £10 / £8 Book Tickets Book Stream An Evening of Powerhouse Poetry: Unmissable Readings and Conversation. Our regular Friday evening poetry headline event features three incredible contemporary poets. Dzifa Benson will read from their long awaited debut full collection Monster (Bloodaxe, 2024) TS Eliot prize-winner Anthony Joseph debut's at VERVE with his recently released selected poems Prcious & Impossible (Bloomsbury, 2024). And Richard Scott appears to celebrate the February publication of his second full collection, That Broke into Shining Crystals (Faber, 2025) Hosting these three wonderful poets for readings and discussion is Helen Bowell, whose debut pamphlet, The Barman (Bad Betty, 2022), was a PBS Summer Pamphlet Choice.

Founded in a poetry book shop as an idea in 2017, now a leading diverse, affordable poetry spoken word festival in Birmingham dedicated to poets and poetry lovers of all genres. WASN'T IT TIME BIRMINGHAM HAD ITS OWN POETRY FESTIVAL? From an idea floated on Twitter to a whirlwind force in the poetry world, Verve Poetry Festival (and our sister press) are proud to be a home for poets and poetry-lovers. From Waterstones to The Old Rep to The Hippodrome, and from a four-day programme to a five-day extravaganza, our festival continues to get better every year, welcoming award-winning poets from the Midlands, the UK and the world. We're thrilled collaborators with the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival, extend our offering with a years worth of online workshops with some of the finest poets the world has to offer in addition to our trimphant return every February. THE COLLECTIVE THE BIRMINGHAM POETRY COLLECTIVE CHAMPIONING POETRY & SPOKEN WORD A COMMUNITY OF RISING POETS DEVELOPING THEIR CRAFT THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION, MENTORSHIP, READINGS, WORKSHOPS, EDITING, CAREER SUPPORT, EDUCATION, WELL-BEING, INDUSTRY REVIEW & COMMITMENT TO PLAY/PRACTICE. 23-24 we launched the pilot programme fund free. 24-25 applications will open in FEBRUARY 25. MONTHLY OPEN MIC Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month to socialise and jump on the mic, or just listen in to the eclectic and diverse voices of Brum. VERVE Open Door is a chance for you to try open mic poetry and spoken word for the first time, or share crafted existing poems that you've been performing for years. The open mic is all about you, wherever you are on your spoken word journey. This event is pure open mic - no headliner, no feature poet - so plenty of time for all to have a go. POETRY NIGHTS IN BIRMINGHAM MISSION Through a dynamic and thought-provoking programme of performances, workshops, and discussions, we aim to nurture creativity, amplify marginalised voices, and recognise established artists while providing a platform for new writers. We showcase the richness and vitality of contemporary poetry, championing a vibrant community that values artistic expression, cultivates empathy, and encourages dialogue. VISION The vision of VERVE Poetry Festival is to be a beacon for contemporary poetry, inspiring a diverse and inclusive community where artistic expression thrives, marginalised voices are heard, and the transformative power of poetry initiates empathy, dialogue, and positive social change. We aspire to create a lasting impact on the literary world, empowering individuals to boldly explore and develop their craft while celebrating the richness and vitality of poetic expression. OUR STORY 2023 CELEBRATING CONTEMPORARY POETRY We opened with our heartwarming Birmingham Schools Slam Final, followed by the Rathbones Folio Poetry Prize with Jackie Kay. Workshops by Helen Calcutt, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Helen Mort, Will Harris, Scarlett Ward and Kathy Pimlott focused on personal experiences, resistance, mythology and sound. We presented our first Poetry Film Night and hosted a Poetry Society Young Poets Takeover. Our all day open mic was the busiest we've ever had and Nick Makoha united art, history, and poetry in our ANNUAL POETRY PERFORMANCE LECTURE. Harana Poetry LIVE brought a poetry magazine to life, and the festivals headline performances included Zaffar Kunial, Gregory Leadbetter, Jenny Mitchell, Jay Gao, Will Harris, Denise Saul, and a lively Saturday Night Stramash with Kevin P. Gilday, celebrating Scottish poets. 2022 OUR MOST AMBITIOUS FESTIVAL YET An extra day added to the programme for the introduction of Birmingham's School Slam Fina. We featured experimental poetry shows like Jasmine Gardosi’s Dancing to Music You Hate and extracts from Kat Lyons’ Dry Season. Our VERVE Poetry Performance Lecture in collaboration with the Poetry School returned with Stephanie Sy-Quia and we were proud to host showcases from Youthful Cities Exchange in the form of Transnational Lag Express and the One-off Online Poetry Festival, disproving two of their title words by putting on a second-edition of their festival on the VERVE stage. The staple brilliant workshops, glorious readings and boisterous poetry nights returned, this time with added accessibility via high-quality streaming. 2020 IN OUR NEW HOME We've landed in Birmingham Hippodrome’s wonderful Patrick Studio, with an integrated programme of POETRY WORKSHOPS, a celebration of poetry collectives - Barbican & Hippodrome Young Poets showcased their work! and a glorious attrium for Verve's Poetry Bookshop and the Poetry Machine. We were thrilled to welcome: Birdspeed, Rachel Allen, Roy Mcfarlane, Toria Garbutt, Mary Jean Chan, Caroline Bird, Andrew McMillan, Deryn Rees-Jones, Jonathan Edwards, Mimi Khalvati, Jaspreet Kaur, and Heather Phillipson. Yomi Sode delivered our second ANNUAL VERVE POETRY LECTURE made in collab with the Poetry School. 2019 A CHANGE OF SCENE For our third year we migrated over to The Old Rep. We welcomed: Inua Ellams, Bernadine Evaristo, Vanessa Kissule, Roger Robinson, Joelle Taylor, Rishi Dastidar, Alison Brackenbury, Jane Yeh, Sumita Chakraborty and many talented poets. We introduced new features to the programme, with Anthony Anaxagorou kicking off the ANNUAL VERVE POETRY LECTURE made in collaboration with the Poetry School . 2018 BIGGER & BOLDER We returned for our second year with a dizzying line-up, including Salena Godden, Luke Wright, Sabrina Mahfouz, Liz Berry, Imtiaz Dharker, Pascale Petit, Nuar Alsadir, Anthony Anaxagorou, Yomi Sode and so many more. Poetry, performance and genre-bending new work from around the globe, all packed into four days. 2017 THE YEAR IT ALL BEGAN Wasn’t it about time that Birmingham had its own poetry festival? Yes, it was. And after months of meticulous planning, the inaugural Verve Poetry Festival took place in February 2017. Taking over Waterstones in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, the festival brought together some of the finest poets from around the country, offering an exhilarating showcase of contemporary work.

WORKSHOP SOUNDSCAPE IN POETRY Aoife Lyall LOCATION BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ABOUT THE EVENT TIME Sunday 2:30pm PRICE £24.50 / £18.50 Book Tickets An exciting and invigorating workshop on how to write, edit and elevate soundscape in poetry. Starting with some light terminology and a heady mixture of classic and contemporary poems to draw inspiration from, this is a workshop for anyone and everyone who is enamoured, baffled, or bewildered by the concept and significance of sound in poetry. Guaranteed to deepen your love and understanding of every syllable you give to the page, this session will give you the confidence to go deeper into the poems you love, and to make your own words sing. Not to be missed! ABOUT THE POET: Aoife Lyall is the author of 'Mother, Nature' (Bloodaxe Books, 2021), shortlisted for the Scottish First Book Award 2021, and 'The Day Before' (Bloodaxe Books, 2024), poems from which were shortlisted in the Bridport Poetry Competition and Highly Commended in the Forward Prize for Poetry. Previous accolades include an Emerging Scottish Writer residency by Cove Park in 2020 and being twice shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Awards. She has received generous National Lottery funding through Creative Scotland to support the writing of her collections. She is reviews editor of Magma Poetry, and has worked as a guest curator and young makar mentor for the Scottish Poetry Library. She has also worked with the Saltire Society as a judge, and Butcher’s Dog as a guest editor. Her poems have inspired music, film, sculpture and artwork across the UK and Ireland. Lyall lives and works in the Scottish Highlands with her family and her work focuses on motherhood, queerness, lockdown, and emigration. Praise for 'The Day Before' ‘Her theme is ‘heaven in the ordinary’ – moments of illumination in everyday life. Written during the pandemic (chillingly evoked in the poem ‘Moss’), these moments become necessary for survival. There’s an imagist precision here, with real emotional power.’ – Graeme Richardson, The Sunday Times, on The Day Before 'There's an undercurrent of suffering to Aoife Lyall's second collection, The Day Before, much of which coheres around the disorientating days of lockdown; its odd rituals, barriers and a looming atmosphere of bureaucratic dread ... There's an elegiac tone to some of the work...and here, the use of gesture and withholding, of feeling by absence, is...effective.' – Declan Ryan, The Irish Times 'The Day Before is remarkable for the assured, luminous quality of each of its poems .... The Day Before is a deceptively complex collection - though its beautiful language and celebration of the everyday create a quiet magic, there is a pervading sense of melancholy as Lyall uncovers the loss in our lives, including the loss of childhood and innocence; the environmental losses we see around us every day; the loss of security in a world marked by pandemic.' – Rosamund Taylor, Poetry Ireland Review

< Back Shame has always had the potential to shape the lyric tradition, to produce poems more ambitious and daring for their uncertainty of self. Friday - 3:30pm LYRIC SHAME Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Birmingham, UK “My hunch is that there’s something about working in poetry (above all in lyric writing) which is inherently bound up with shame. Indeed, shame may act as a driving ‘motor’ of lyric.” Denise Riley Over the course of the 20th century, lyric poetry underwent a kind of crisis of identity, sparked by the American academy’s incremental disdain for what were termed ‘epiphany poems’. As a consequence of this scathing diagnosis, much lyric poetry became more self-aware, more self-critical, more ashamed of itself. That said, for those poets who have spent their careers writing on the fringes, shame was not a new feature, for shame has always had the potential to shape the lyric tradition, to produce poems more ambitious and daring for their uncertainty of self. At a historical moment in which we have much to feel ashamed of, it is vital that poetry reflect the messy contradictions of existence. In this workshop, writers will read and discuss some of the poems most emblematic of the lyric shame movement, including work by Sylvia Plath, Claudia Rankine, Maggie Nelson, and Robert Hass. There will also be writing exercises designed to harness negative affect in ways that can render the resulting poems more powerful. WORKSHOP £24.50 / £18.50 Friday - 3:30pm Book Tickets

< Back This imaginative poetry workshop invites writers to explore the landscapes, places, and people that call to them. Saturday - 2:30pm FINDING MARY: IRISH ANCESTRY Hippodrome Theatre, Hurst Street, Birmingham, UK Drawing on Helen’s own poem, ‘Visiting Mary’, which details her Irish ancestry, we will identify and creatively excavate those, as-of-yet, unmet spaces and faces that we long to journey into and understand. Through the magic of language and the mind, writers will immerse themselves in this experience, and in parallel, observe the shape and terrain of their inner worlds, and why this soulful part of us seeks connection with these external spaces. Poets are encouraged to come lightly prepared with a few ideas around familial history, but this isn’t essential. ABOUT THE POET HELEN Calcutt is a choreographer, dance aritst, and award-winning poet. Her pamphlet ‘Somehow’ (Verve Poetry Press, 2020), was a PBS Winter Bulletin Pamphlet & Poetry School Book of the Year (2020). Her anthology ‘Eighty-Four’ (Verve Press, 2019), was a Saboteur Award shortlist, and a Poetry Wales Book of the Year, 2019. Her full-length collection ‘Feeling All the Kills’, a verse account of assault, and recovery, was published by Pavilion Poetry, April 2024. Her notable research into text-to-dance translation has been supported by Arts Council England, the Birmingham REP Theatre, and One Dance U.K. She has received awards from the Society of Authors, and her writing appears in the Guardian, the Huffington Post, Poetry Ireland, Poetry London, Poetry Wales, Wild Court, and MPT Magazine, amongst others. Helen was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Loughborough University for her outstanding contribution to the arts in 2023. She is currently creating and touring a dance adaptation of Max Porter’s ‘Grief Is the Thing with Feathers’ with her company Beyond Words. WORKSHOP £24.50 / £18.50 Saturday - 2:30pm Book Tickets

FESTIVAL PASSES Experience more poetry for your money with one of our FESTIVAL PASSES FESTIVAL PASS >> Includes entry to all events throughout the festival (excluding workshops and the Schools Slam Final on Wed 12 Feb). £60 (concessions £45) SATURDAY PASS >> Includes entry to all events on Sat 15 Feb (excluding workshops). £35 (concessions £26) SUNDAY PASS >> Includes entry to all events on Sun 16 Feb (excluding workshops). £20 (concessions £15) ONLINE PASS >> his pass gives you access to each and every one of our streamed events, to watch live or enjoy for up to four weeks afterwards. £50 (consessions £35)

WORKSHOP TURNING MOVEMENT INTO POETRY Dzifa Benson LOCATION BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ABOUT THE EVENT TIME Friday - 4pm PRICE £24.50 / £18.50 Book Tickets This ambitious and experimental workshop channels choreographer and dance theorist Rudolf Laban’s techniques. According to Laban, human beings move not only from place to place but also from mood to mood so his ideas can apply to the composition of embodied poetry as much as they can to choreographed movement. Laban also encouraged physical, emotional, sensual and intellectual integration which, in the workshop, will translate as poetic rhythms that can be understood and experienced by the body in motion. To this end, participants will be led through a process of writing poetry inspired by Laban’s mapping system of purposeful movement in order to write impactful poetry. ABOUT THE POET Dzifa Benson, who was born in London to Ghanaian parents and grew up in Ghana, Nigeria and Togo and is now based in London, is an award-winning artist in multiple media . Literature is her primary mode for making things but she also uses art, science, technology, the body and ritual to tell stories. She explores all this through poetry, prose, theatre, libretto, performance, curation, video, installation, immersive technologies, essays, criticism and teaching. She embraces collaboration and participation at the heart of what she does and is really interested in research-led, site-specific work that subverts the use of existing spaces. Before all this, she worked as a parliamentary assistant for a member of parliament for seven years.

The winning September poem for VERVE Poetry Festivals monthly poetry competition, Poem of the Month. P. A. Erskine This Business of Size I became so small once I was as small as the pages I started essays on and crumpled up, crumpled up so by the end of the night the floor was littered with clenched fists of paper. I looked all the time like a girl but all the time I was pieces of paper. I still rode my bike to the market or to lectures, in a red knitted cape, or in a blue denim jacket, and I looked like a girl but the whole time I was paper and unfinished sentences or a silver pill box with a green stone in the lid very hard to open and the whole of my head was inside it. I looked like a girl and could see leaves turning yellow and the mist drifting up from the river but all that time I was trying to find where my mind was and where was everyone else? SHORTLIST The Business of Size P. A. Erskine my poetry tutor breaks up on Zoom talking about white space — Suzanna Fitzpatrick After Jessie — Beth Punnett Samurai Orchid — Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana Totem Pole / White Gloves — Mariah Whelan She’s in a Better Place — Syd Meats READ ALL SHORTLISTED ON OUR SUBSTACK

POETRY LAUNCHING THE NEW CARTHAGINIANS Nick Makoha LOCATION BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME ABOUT THE EVENT TIME Sunday - 1pm PRICE £8 / £6 Book Tickets Book Stream We are thrilled to have exclusive early copies of this wonderful new title. One of the most exciting publications of 2025 will be Nick Makoha's The New Carthaginians (Penguin, Feb 28th 2025). We are thrilled to have exclusive early copies of this wonderful new title and to feature an extended reading from Nick along with a short interview to discover more about this wonderful book! The interview will be conduncted by Isabelle Baafi whose own debut full collection, Chaotic Good, comes out from Faber this year! Concerned throughout with flight and falling, the sample and the loop, The New Carthaginians is a poetry collection of staggering originality: a work by an author at the height of his powers, in which the familiar Western canons of art, history and philosophy are prised apart and reassembled in a new configuration. ‘In this book, Nick Makoha has found an otherworldly, visionary voice and diction that arrest you from the first page and never let you go.’ Jason Allen-Paisant. Don't miss this thrilling and unique event.