Lyra - Bristol Poetry Festival

Lyra - Bristol Poetry Festival is taking place from March 31 - April 10, after receiving a funding grant from Arts Council England. The hybrid festival will feature a range of in-person and online events including readings, performances, workshops, panel discussions, a lecture, family activities, a walking tour, an open mic, poetry slams and a film screening. 

The 2022 festival theme is Breaking Boundaries: New Worlds, which celebrates interdisciplinary poetry across art forms and cultures, translated and multilingual poetry, and poetry as a bridge between groups and communities. 2022 also marks 100 years since the publication of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, and we’ll have both a lecture and workshop responding to the poem and exploring its relevance in the present day. 

This year’s programme features some of the biggest names in UK and international poetry today, including Roger McGough, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Zena Edwards, Anthony Joseph, Inua Ellams, TJ Dema, Raymond Antrobus, the most recent T.S. Eliot Prize winner Joelle Taylor, and many more. We are also thrilled to host international guests including US poets Terrance Hayes and Buddy Wakefield, and Argentinian poet Diana Bellessi, as well as performances for young people by two of the nation’s favourite poets Michael Rosen and Daljit Nagra. 

Accessibility, inclusion and representation are at the heart of Lyra Festival, and this year’s programme includes many free and low-cost events, BSL interpreted and captioned events, multilingual readings and a number of participatory activities. 

100% of live venues are wheelchair accessible. This year’s venues include St. George’s Bristol, SS Great Britain, Waterstones, Wills Memorial Building, Arnolfini, Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, M Shed and Bristol Beacon.

Lyra’s 2022 Festival Poet is writer, poet, performer and historian Edson Burton. Edson will engage in community outreach work, a public performance and workshop, and other activities centered around the festival’s 2022 theme.

Lyra Festival is Co-Directed by Dr Lucy English and Danny Pandolfi.  A special thanks to all our key partners who enrich the festival in so many ways, including Bristol University’s Poetry Institute, Bath Spa University, Apples and Snakes, Poetry By Heart, Culture Weston, Bristol Ideas, Rebecca Swift Foundation, Destination Bristol and many more. We hope you enjoy April’s programme of poetry at Lyra Festival, and we look forward to seeing everybody both online and in-person.

The full programme of events is now live at www.lyrafest.com, where you can find tickets to all individual events, as well as Festival Passes.