Roving poetry festival to return to the Yorkshire Wolds for 2025

Now submissions are sought on this theme as the High Wolds Poetry Festival returns this September.

The roving festival is to be held in Kilham for the first time, leaving its North Dalton home to rotate across villages in upcoming years.

With it there will be a range of poetry to be shared, and a custom-designed book to be created.

Festival director Julian Woodford said this was a creative festival with a huge appeal.

"When we first set it up, we wanted this festival to be for people who might not normally write or who aren't regular performers," he said.

"What we've got is a real mix, there are people from Driffield and the Wolds who have never presented work before, but it also brings in experienced writers."

This is a festival that's "ecunemical" in its approach, appealing to "all churches".

"It's shaped by writers and performers," he added. "We might have someone submit something they've written in a tractor or a field, or a garden."

The festival is to be held at Kilham Village Hall on September 27.

Poetry entries, of any number or length, on any theme, can be submitted until August 15. Entries are welcomed for festival reading slots and poetry book submissions.

A selection of work will also be published in a free book, and there will be live music, art displays and home-made food and drink through the day.

In the run up, the team is also hosting free writing workshops, to help people produce submitted work.

Sarah Mills, festival coordinator, said the workshops bring people together in a smaller setting to be inspired by different links under the festival theme.

"Our first at Millington was very successful and helped to build writers’ confidence focused on connections to the land, including the term ‘gait’, the geographical lie of the land as well as local stories and anecdotes about the area which always helps to bring stories alive," she said.

And Mr Woodford said there was so much to explore, under the theme of Connections.

"What the Wolds has is a huge range - beautiful landscapes, immaculate chalkstreams," he said. "There is stand-out scenery, rolling hills, it's just a beautiful place to live and work.

"These 'connections' can be about anything, about what connects us to a place or to each other, or even to people in the past.

"It could be what happens when those connections are broken, when someone dies or moves away.

"It's very much of where we are in the Yorkshire Wolds, the people we know and the places we see every day. That's a physical thing, but also so abstract."

A workshop to give inspiration for would-be poets who would be interested in taking part in the festival is to be held at North Newbald village hall on Tuesday, July 22.

To find out more email [email protected].