Woodstock Poetry Festival 2015 - comments

I am starting to plan next year's poetry festival - it will be our fifth - so if you have any particular requests do send them in and I will see what can be arranged. In the meantime, here are a few of the responses we had to this year's festival. Many thanks to all the poets who came, and to the many customers and poetry lovers who came together in such large and appreciative numbers to make an audience.

Customer and audience comments:

'May I congratulate you on a very successful poetry festival, and thank you for all your work in organising and running the readings...I enjoyed the festival enormously, some excellent poets and very rewarding readings.'

'Thank you for such a wonderful programme recently at the Festival - I thought Tony Harrison especially was a treasure of a reading and am so glad to have had the chance to hear him, and in a pulpit!'

'I look forward to next years festival.' 

'This was my first poetry festival and I loved it. Hope to come again next year.'

' ...the most successful Woodstock Poetry festival ever. I was extremely impressed by Katrina Porteous, and of course it was thrilling to hear Don Paterson. In fact all the readings I went to were hugely enjoyable...It is very exciting to have such a scintillating poetry event on the doorstep.'

'Thank you for the best weekend I’ve had for years. You chose a brilliant collection of poets and all seemed to go so smoothly. Delicious food. Wonderful atmosphere. I’m so grateful. With love, and thanks to your supporting team,'

'Just to say how good I thought the Festival and how well chosen and organised. Thanks to all.' 

'The festival was amazing! Especially Tony Harrison, Elaine Feinstein and Katrina Porteous - please bring them back'

'I meant to write at once to thank you and congratulate you on yet another brilliantly successful festival. Apart from the sheer quality of the poets reading, one thing that worked really well was being able to just step next door for some of those wonderful cakes and teas poured so charmingly by Molly. It was great not having to go outside, but to be able to keep on talking about the poetry and indeed to some of the poets and then just slip seamlessly back into the hall for the next treat...We were all bowled over by Tony Harrison so it would be great if he came back.'

'Many congratulations on the Poetry Festival - the huge amount of organisation required was very much well worthwhile.  I greatly enjoyed the Harrison reading in particular.'

'I think you created something absolutely amazing over the weekend'

'...I congratulate you on the success of the Poetry Festival with its combination of new and established poets. We thoroughly enjoyed every session we attended, and were only sorry that we weren't free to go to every one of them. And the final gathering in the Social Club was a delight!'

Messages from the performers:

Katrina Porteous: 'You've done something really extraordinary, to bring all those poets and poetry-lovers together. It as a triumph. To have done this at a time when things could not be tougher for poets OR for independent bookshops is nothing less than miraculous. You are amazing! Many, many congratulations!
     'I know how hard you and your team of volunteers worked to make it all happen. I hope that you were able to enjoy the weekend, in spite of all that effort. It was certainly great fun for the participants. I wasn't exaggerating when I said that last years' Woodstock Poetry Festival was the highpoint of my year. This year's has been every bit as good -- perhaps even better. How wonderful to hear Kathleen Jamie and Tony Harrison! Such different styles, but both of them real stars. Great to have the chance to present 'Horse', and to perform alongside Helen Mort and Alan Buckley, to such a warm and receptive audience. Lovely to meet up with so many friends from last year. And such an honour to launch Shorelines. It really is the most beautiful book. Fabulous that we could hear three of the other contributors read, too. That gave it even more of a sense of occasion.' 

Alan Buckley: 'Thank you again for all your hard work organising and promoting the festival, it's very heartening to see poets reading to large and appreciative audiences...Seeing Tony Harrison read was definitely one of the poetry highlights of the year for me, so glad you were able to book him for the festival.' (See here for a recent interview with Tony Harrison)

Nick Hooper: 'A wonderful audience' 

Helen Mort: 'Thanks for having us and for organising such a superb festival. The Tony Harrison reading will stay with me forever, it really was a rare moment... extremely inspiring. A masterclass on how to write and how to read.'