McGregor Poetry Festival celebrates 10 years this weekend

Image supplied: One of the venues at the McGregor Poetry Festival, Caritas at Temenos

Founder Billy Kennedy says, “Now in its tenth year, we will reflect on our wondrous journey thus far, filled as it was with the exuberant passion and generosity of the many poets who have supported our vision. Once again, the festival will be anchored at Temenos Retreat in McGregor and will celebrate poets, their muses and their creative offerings.”

This year`s festival has 65 events in total that include 43 poetry reading events, three open mic sessions, 11 book launch events, three workshops, three music and movement performances and two youth outreach events.

Antjie Krog, Wendy Woodward, Ian McCallum, Harry Owen, Ilze Olckers, Jacques Coetzee, Kobus Moolman, Archie Swanson, Stephen Symons, Lara Kirsten, Sue Woodward and Diana Ferrus (with Die Mengelmoes Digters), joins a long list of impressive poets on this year`s programme.

There is also a special event with John Maytham, where he will read from a script crafted by Finuala Dowling inspired by ‘Touching the Wild’. Exciting new voices Nondwe Mpuma, Lisa Julie and Jadrick Pedro will also be at the festival.

Poetry in English and Afrikaans from the underground literary zine, Ons Klyntji, will also be featured at the festival. Regular Ons Klyntji zine contributors Sindiswe Busuku and Tom Dreyer will be joined by well-known spoken word artists Churchil Naudé and Curtley Jones plus two of the zine’s editors, Toast Coetzer and Alice Inggs.

Book launches include new works by Douglas Reid Skinner, Willem Fransman Jnr, Christine Coates and The Phoebe Book of Poems for Children curated by Patricia Schonstein among others. The launch of the Poetry in McGregor 2021 Anthology with readings will also be a highlight on 19 November at 3pm, at Wahnfried.

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The Youth Program at Poetry in McGregor will feature art, photography and poetry workshops the week before the festival for approximately 90 participants, grades 1-12, from McGregor Fountain Waldorf School, McGregor Primary School, and McGregor College.

Poetry in McGregor also encourages poets young and old to keep writing. Entries for the annual festival poetry competition are now closed. The poems will be judged by external well-known poets, and their decision will be final. Finalists will be published here and the prize winners will be announced at the opening event of the festival on 18 November. There are great cash prizes for the winners in the youth and adult categories.

Tickets can be booked here.