Fife poetry festival tickets go on sale

Inua Ellams is just one of those who will be performing.

The festival, which was forced to move online in response to Covid restrictions, has created an innovative programme combining traditional StAnza favourites with new events capturing the full potential of the digital realm.

Most events at this year’s festival are free and ticketed, but are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis and can be viewed on StAnza’s website.

The festival this year runs for an extended period from March 6-14, getting underway with an opening night gala performance. The online extravaganza is packed with poems, film, art and music giving a sneak preview of some of the highlights of StAnza 2021. The event includes readings from some of the most acclaimed names in poetry alongside some of the newest, most exciting emerging voices on the scene as well as poetry from a sister festival in Tasmania.

Festival director Eleanor Livingstone said: “It’s exciting to be announcing our ticket release for StAnza 2021 and we’re thrilled the festival has been able to adapt to the current restrictions caused by the pandemic.

“We’re delighted to be welcoming so many wonderful poets and artists to be part of this year’s programme which is very different to previous years combining traditional StAnza favourites with online events in our innovative, new digital format.”

Among the headline voices performing at this year’s festival are Naomi Shihab Nye, winner of the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle; Raymond Antrobus, winner of the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry in 2019; and poet, playwright and translator Sasha Dugdale, a previous winner of the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. They will be joined by Imtiaz Dharker, winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal, along with Tim Liardet, Maria Stepanova, Rab Wilson, Valzhyna Mort and Christopher Whyte.

Other poets on the StAnza programme include Jonathan Edwards, Desree, Courney Conrad, Jennifer Wong, Inua Ellams, Nabin K. Chhetri and many more.

Full box office details can be found online at the StAnza booking page or telephone the box office on 01334 475 000.