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T-junction International Poetry Festival in Middlesbrough 25-29 April

By Published March 08, 2018

Poets from all over the globe will descend on Middlesbrough in April.

Two hundred and fifty years ago Middlesbrough-born James Cook sailed around the world on HMS Endeavour. It was an extraordinary voyage of scientific discovery, opening up the European imagination to undreamed of places and peoples under different stars – and opening up the Pacific to colonisation, genocide and environmental destruction. With these contradictions in mind, in this anniversary year T-junction is celebrating Teesside’s long international history by focussing on the poetry of travel and discovery, departure and arrival, emigration and immigration, longing and belonging. Every poem is an exploration, every departure is an arrival, every traveller is a stranger; we are all somebody’s neighbour.

Previous T-junction festivals have brought to the North-east poets from Cuba, Zimbabwe, Macedonia, France, Estonia, Serbia, Latvia, Pakistan, Bosnia, Finland, Palestine and Syria.

This year’s festival line-up includes poets from Russia, Iraq, Poland, Botswana, Finland, France, Nigeria, Turkey, Peru, Iceland, the Punjab – and Teesside.

Poets include Michael Rosen, Lev Rubenstein, Aurélia Lassaque, Chawki Abdelamir, Bejan Matur, Gerður KristnýFrancis Combes, Keabonye Bareeng, Zoila Forss, Justyna Bargielska, Kalle Niinikangas, Eric Motswasele, Abdulkareem Kasid and Amarjit Chandan.

Running from 25-29 April, this year’s T-junction is a five-day poetry festival of readings, master-classes and book-launches. There will be debates about the poetry of travel, about the ‘Arab Winter’ and about the social responsibilities of poetry, as well as a marathon Urdu-Punjabi musha’ara. Meanwhile, festival poets are working in fifty local schools and colleges, helping students write poems for the festival anthology.

‘This year’s festival is going to be a celebration of Teesside’s international character,’ according to organiser Andy Croft, ‘an international festival for a town with a long international history.’

For more information contact Andy Croft at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., on 01642 813997 or via www.tjunctionfestival.co.uk.

T-Junction is supported by the Arts Council, Middlesbrough Council, Inpress, mima, Teesside University, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Inspire to Learn, Ek Zuban, Mudfog, Vane Women, Folklines, Glas, Apples and Snakes and Smokestack Books.

 

 

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