Poetry Festival to celebrate Sylvia Plath
Sunday, 29 May 2022
A brand new festival is coming to Hebden Bridge this autumn, to celebrate the life of one of the area's most famous poets. The Sylvia Plath Literary Festival takes place from Friday 21st October – Sunday 23rd October 2022. Tickets for the Festival will go on sale in July.
The Sylvia Plath Literary Festival will mark the 90th birthday of the legendary poet, and coincide with the publication of After Sylvia, edited by Sarah Corbett and Ian Humphreys, an inspiring anthology of new poems and essays in celebration of her life and work. The weekend festival will feature talks, readings, workshops and events at venues across Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall.
Festival Director Sarah Corbett told the HebWeb, "We're excited that the festival will bring together leading and emerging poets and writers from across the UK, Ireland and the US to celebrate Sylvia Plath's legacy, her importance for 20th and 21st Century literary arts, and her continued influence on contemporary writers."
Events will include a poetry brunch, a poetry séance and open mic night, writing workshops and close readings, cocktail hour at Nelson's Wine Bar with Gail Crowther, author of Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, and will offer a range of digital and live-streamed events. Among speakers at the festival are Sylvia Plath biographer Heather Clark (Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath), poets Mona Arshi (winner of the Forward Poetry Prize 2015, for Small Hands), Victoria Kennefick (shortlisted for the Costa and T.S. Eliot poetry prizes for Eat and We Both Starve) and Rosie Garland (What Girls Do in the Dark).
