Published: 11 Nov 2020
StAnza 2021: Saturday 6th to Sunday 14th March, 2021
Photo of Christopher Whyte
StAnza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival, has revealed some of the first names to be included in its 2021 programme. The festival, which will next year take the form of a hybrid digital event will run from Saturday 6th to Sunday 14th March from its home in the Fife town of St Andrews.
Among those performing at next year’s annual 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, Christopher Whyte and many others.
StAnza Festival Director, Eleanor Livingstone said: "With such uncertainty around cultural events at the moment we are thrilled to be announcing a line-up for next year including so many wonderful names from the poetry world.
“StAnza’s hybrid digital festival programme will bring together poets and audiences from around the world to discover and celebrate the richness of poetry in innovative ways and we look forward to revealing our full programme in the coming months.”
Viccy Adams, Literature Officer, Creative Scotland added: “This line-up of poets from close to home and across the waters is set to bring us together to enjoy the restorative, reflective and uplifting experiences that poetry offers us in turbulent times. With its new hybrid format, Scottish audiences from the borders to the islands will be able to dip their toes in this celebration of poetry in all its forms that StAnza unfailingly delivers, thanks to support from The National Lottery.”
StAnza traditionally focuses on two themes which interweave with each other to give each annual festival its own unique flavour. Next year’s themes are fittingly ‘Make It New’ and ‘No Rhyme nor Reason’, with a translated language focus of ‘Beyond the Iron Curtain’. Next year’s programme will also continue the tradition of being a truly international affair, featuring poets from all over the world including the United States, Russia and Belarus.
Next year’s festival will include traditional StAnza favourites such as readings and round table events, with new events to capture the full potential of the digital realm, with interactive poetry installations, ‘At Home’ events with poets and an enhanced filmpoem and sound poem programme. The programme will also include a series of installations which can be enjoyed by those with little or no access to the internet. Dozens of poets will take part in around 50 events over nine days.
About StAnza
Scotland’s International Poetry Festival is held every March in St Andrews and runs one-off events throughout the year.
StAnza’s programme will be available from late November.
Scotland’s International Poetry Festival is funded by Creative Scotland and Fife Council.
For updates on StAnza, visit www.stanzapoetry.org.
You can also find us on Facebook, read the StAnza Blog, and follow us on Twitter @stanzapoetry
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
Twitter: twitter.com/CreativeScots
Facebook: facebook.com/CreativeScotland
Instagram: instagram.com/creativescots
Louise Robertson
Press & Media Manager
Email: press@stanzapoetry.org
Mobile: 07930 539832
