Canada's most generous poetry award, founded by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin.
Title: Hay Festival Beirut
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Description: Hay Festival teams up with Beirut Art Center, British Council, Literature Across Frontiers and other partners to put together a three-day festival with writers, journalists, bloggers and thinkers.
Start Date: July 4, 2012
End Date: July 6, 2012
Title: Poetry Parnassus
Location: London, England
Description: From June 26, as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Southbank Centre is hosting a week-long Poetry Parnassus – the largest poetry festival ever staged in the UK, bringing together poets from all the competing Olympic nations. Wend your way through each country’s poems using the Guardian’s interactive map.
Start Date: June 26, 2012
End Date: July 1, 2012
Title: Ledbury Poetry Festival
Location: Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK
Description: The Ledbury Poetry Festival takes place over ten days each July. Arguably the biggest and best poetry festival in the UK and celebrating its 15th year in 2012, it features poets from all over the world. It offers live readings, performances, workshops, open mics, music, exhibitions, films, family events, street events, a slam and much more.
Start Date: June 29, 2012
End Date: July 8, 2012
Title: 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize winners announced
Description: The Griffin Poetry Prize International and Canadian winners are announced at a gala awards evening held at the Stone Distillery in Toronto.
Read the 2012 announcement here.
Date: June 7, 2012
Title: 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize readings
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: The much anticipated readings by the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlisted poets is held at beautiful Koerner Hall, Telus Centre for Performance and Learning, part of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. The evening also includes the announcement of the Griffin Lifetime Recognition award recipient.
Read about the 2012 Griffin Lifetime Recognition award recipient, Seamus Heaney.
The 2012 Griffin Poetry Prize readings were offered as a livestream, archived here.
Date: June 6, 2012
Title: Dublin Writers Festival
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Description: The Dublin Writers Festival – an initiative of Dublin City Council, supported by the Arts Council – presents annually the masters of international writing and bright emerging voices.
Start Date: June 4, 2012
End Date: June 10, 2012
Title: Hay Festival Wales
Location: Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales
Description: For 25 years Hay Festival has brought together writers from around the world to debate and share stories at its festival in the staggering beauty of the Welsh Borders. Hay celebrates great writing from poets and scientists, lyricists and comedians, novelists and environmentalists, and the power of great ideas to transform our way of thinking.Hay is, in Bill Clinton’s phrase, ‘The Woodstock of the mind’.
Learn more about the Hay Festival in Wales here.
Start Date: May 31, 2012
End Date: June 10, 2012
Title: Skagit River Poetry Festival
Location: La Conner, Washington, US
Description: The Skagit River Poetry Project’s mission is to brings poets into classrooms to promote literacy, an appreciation of language and participation in culturally diverse communities. Students are the heart of the initiative, which also promotes a biennial poetry festival that welcomes diverse and well-known poets from around the world.
Learn more about the organization and festival here.
Start Date: May 17, 2012
End Date: May 20, 2012
Title: Poetry Out Loud National Finals
Location: Washington, DC, US
Description: Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by building on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the popularity of rap music among youth. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. Now in its seventh year of national competition, Poetry Out Loud has inspired thousands of high school students to discover classic and contemporary poetry.
Read about the 2012 winners here.
Date: May 16, 2012
Title: Forward Prizes for Poetry submission deadline
Location: United Kingdom
Description: Today is the deadline for submissions to the Forward Prizes for Poetry: Best Collection (prize of £10,000), Best First Collection (prize of £5000) and Best Single Poem (prize of £1000).
Date: May 4, 2012