The Ilkley Literature Festival this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, after delivering decades of compelling writing from different authors and poets.
As well as featuring some celebrity speakers such as Kate Humble (Springwatch), Duncan Bannatyne (Dragons Den), and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Carole Bromley (pictured), a resident poet in York, will be leading a Stanza Poetry Showcase at the Ilkley Playhouse on the 7th October 2013.
I started off by asking about what inspires her when she writes. “I write about relationships, family, the past but I also love writing from paintings or places. I recently won a prize with a poem about a stained glass window in the Minster for example and I won the Bridport Prize a few years ago with a poem sparked by a Magritte painting. The city itself has been an inspiration, as it has been her home for nearly 40 years. York is a city I love. It is an inspiring and very beautiful place. I actually set readers of the blog I have been writing for the digital magazine YorkMix the challenge of writing a poem about the city and we had some really good poems sent in which you can still read on the archive.”
Two years ago, Bromley set up the Poetry Society Stanza Group, a writing group for talented writers, who will showcase their work at the Ilkley Playhouse. She added: “We have 38 members and meet once a month to workshop poems in progress. Twelve of us will be reading for five minutes each so the audience will get a taste of a variety of voices.” On the matter of the future of poetry showcases, she said: “There are people who would rather have their eyes gouged out than sit through a poetry reading! I am not one of them. Every year I go the Bridlington Poetry Festival and also to events at Ilkley and Beverley. To listen to great poets from all over the world reading their work is a real privilege. So yes, I think poetry readings will always attract audiences. I certainly hope this one does! Come along – you will be in for a treat.”