Welcome
The Torbay Festival of Poetry is not professionally administrated. Nevertheless, we hope it is efficiently run. It has always aimed to make sure visiting poets meet and mix with their audiences. Also, as someone said, it succeeds additionally in getting 'audience and audience mixing', and is a place where like-minded people can meet and make friends. It is this friendliness which we feel is the hallmark of our success. That, and the professionalism of the poets who perform at the Festival. Not only do we have the stars of the poetry world appearing at the Festival, but we also have alongside such poets, writers whose work and performances, maintain a like high standard but who are not always as well known. It is one of the joys of the Torbay Poetry Festival that we can introduce such poets to a wider audience. We, as organisers, feel poetry is an art which can be enjoyed by everyone, whether they write poetry or read and appreciate poetry. It is with this perspective in mind that we plan our festivals, treating everyone who attends as a guest rather than just a paying member of an audience. After ten years, it is hoped our visitors still feel it is a very personal Festival.
'One long poetry party' Martin Blythe.
Torbay open poetry competition
Competition Judge: Wendy French is a former headteacher, now freelancing as a facilitator for creative writing in health care, community and educational settings. She is a past chair of Lapidus (Literary Arts and Personal Development) and continues as co-convenor of its London Group. Her own published works include two full collections: Splintering the Dark (2005, Rockingham Press) and surely you know this (2009, tall lighthouse) in addition to numerous poems in magazines and anthologies. She won first prize in the Torbay Poetry Competition in 2008, and highly commended in last year’s Competition.
News
Philip Gross wins 2010 Welsh Book of the Year Award
Poet Philip Gross has won the Wales Book of the Year 2010 for
What's New for this Year
The Festival opens again with an event in the Undercroft of Torre Abbey where ...
Archives
2003 Festival
Highlights included ABIDE WITH US at the ‘Abide With Me’ memorial church in ...
2004 Festival
Highlights included Prunella Scales teasing the audience’s memory with ‘Poems You ...
Get in touch
Torbay Poetry Festival,
6 The Mount, Furzeham, Brixham,
South Devon
TQ5 8QY
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