Eighth Ripon Poetry Festival to begin this week

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National Poetry Day on Thursday (October 2) signals the start of Ripon’s own celebration of rhyme for people of all ages.

The city’s eighth poetry festival begins at the cathedral with readings from the This Here This Now 2025 anthology of poems written by by local people. 

Published by Hornblower Press and edited by Leah Fletcher and Caroline Matusiak, the book features 40 poets including tutors and students from the former Ripon College and local writing groups.

The free to attend event starts at 2pm.

At 4pm on Thursday, Ripon Library will host a poetry playhouse family workshop led by acclaimed poet Olivia Mulligan and featuring readings from her book Reggie From The Hedgie. Tickets costing £3 per family are available at the library.

Later in the day, the Claro Lounge will be the setting for an open mic evening staged by Ripon Writers Group and Write-On Ripon.

Starting at 7.30, it will provide an opportunity for budding poets to showcase their talent. 

When they arrive, those wishing to participate will be able to sign up to read their work to a live audience. There is no charge for attendance.

At 7.30pm on Friday, Blake Morrison, - an award-winning poet, novelist, and memoirist - will be at the library to give an insight into his writing.

Known for his bestselling autobiographical works including And When Did You Last See Your Father?  and Things My Mother Never Told Me, his work also includes As If, which examined the James Bulger murder case 

Mr Morrison, who was born in Skipton, was a literary editor for the Times Literary Supplement, The Observer, and The Independent on Sunday, before becoming a full-time writer in 1995. Tickets for his talk cost £10 and are available from the library.

Poetry in motion

Those who like to roam and write are invited to take part in a four-hour poetry and writing walk with award-winning author Mary-Jane Holmes, a writer, teacher and editor based in Durham. 

Her work has been published in the Best Small Fictions Anthology 2016 and 2018, and the Best Microfictions Anthology 2020. 

The walk starts on Market Square at 11am on Saturday and tickets costing £20 are available online via the festival Facebook page,

The festival comes to a close at the library on Saturday evening, with Andy Croft and Paul Mills in conversation about Mr Croft's new book The Privatisation of Poetry. The event starts at 7.30 and tickets costing £5 can be purchased at the library.

Mr Croft, who was one of the founders of the festival and its curator since it launched in 2016, has stepped down this year to concentrate on his own writing and work as a publisher.