Brand new poetry festival to celebrate Sylvia Plath is coming to Hebden Bridge

The Sylvia Plath Literary Festival will mark the 90th birthday of the legendary poet, and coincide with the publication of After Sylvia, an inspiring anthology of new poems and essays in celebration of her life and work.

The weekend festival will feature talks, readings, workshops and events at venues across Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall.

Festival Director Sarah Corbett said: “We’re excited that the festival will bring together leading and emerging poets and writers from across the UK, Ireland and the US to celebrate Sylvia Plath’s legacy, her importance for 20th and 21st Century literary arts, and her continued influence on contemporary writers.”

Events will include a poetry brunch, a poetry séance and open mic night, writing workshops and close readings, cocktail hour at Nelson’s Wine Bar with Gail Crowther, author of Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, and will offer a range of digital and live-streamed events. Among speakers at the festival are Sylvia Plath biographer Heather Clark (Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath), poets Mona Arshi (winner of the Forward Poetry Prize 2015, for Small Hands), Victoria Kennefick (shortlisted for the Costa and T.S. Eliot poetry prizes for Eat and We Both Starve) and Rosie Garland (What Girls Do in the Dark).