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South Downs
Poetry
SOUTH DOWNS POETRY
Exploring, celebrating, developing the written and spoken word.
Events
South Downs Poetry kicks off 2026 with our annual celebration of Keats and the Romantics on Wednesday 25th February 7.30pm with poet Stephanie Norgate, a talk on Keats by Prof Fiona Price and an open mic at New Park Centre, Chichester. Then it’s onto the Festival of Chichester for the Poetry & Jazz Cafe on Thursday 25 June with Kate Noakes and Martyn Crucefix; and the Novium for Poetry and Music with actor/playwright Steven Berkoff (tbc) on Tuesday 7th July and St John's Chapel for pastoral poetry with acoustic guitar, The Skylark and the City, on 17th July.
Competition
The 2026 poetry competition for The Binsted Prize opens on 1 January and closes on 31 March. This year's judge is prize winning British-Canadian poet and novelist Joanna Lilley. Prize giving readings at St John's Chapel, Chichester at 7pm on Saturday 23 May. All welcome. See the Competition page.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
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2024 is the Year of Poetry Partnerships. The South Downs Poetry Festival is committed to continue to bring you stimulating new poetry to enjoy. With partnerships including:
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