Bristol Project Celebrating the City’s Poets and Poetry Wins Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Chatterton’s Holiday Afternoon, Engraved by William Ridgway after a picture by William Benjamin Morris that was published in The Art Journal, 1875., BRL B28436 SR50

A group of Bristol projects celebrating the city’s poetic past, present and future has been awarded £87,700 funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. A Poetic City is a programme of activity run by organisations including The Bristol Poetry Institute, Lyra poetry festival, Glenside Hospital Museum, the University of Bristol, Bristol Libraries, Bristol Culture, the RWA and St Mary Redcliffe. Poets from across the country, as well as poets from the city, will be writing and performing new works, guided poetry walks will explore different parts of the city and a free comic will be produced, telling the story of Bristol’s famous poets. The project has been inspired by Bristolian poet Thomas Chatterton, who was born in 1752 and inspired generations of poets after him.

The project runs until the end of 2020 and includes:

  • Writers in residence being based a public sites across the city.
  • New poetry commissions being written by 10 poets, performed and shared across the city.
  • The new app, exploring the city and it’s connections with poetry and poets.
  • The story of Bristol’s poetic history, and one of the city’s most famous poets, Thomas Chatterton, told in comic-book style and distributed across the city.
  • Walking tours of the city led by academics and poets.
  • Poets working with local communities, young and old, through St Mary Redcliffe Church.
  • A new poem specially written by the City Poet, Vanessa Kisuule.
  • A series of lectures exploring young people, arts and mental health.
  • Special events across the city as part of Bristol Open Doors (https://bristolopendoors.org.uk/).
  • More activity and events will be added to the programme as it is developed over the coming months.

Find out more on Twitter: #BristolPoeticCity

Cian Murphy selected in 2018 Best New British and Irish Poets Anthology

BPI poet, Cian Murphy

Cian Murphy’s poem, ‘At the Clinic’, will be published in the 2018 Best New British and Irish Poets Anthology.

‘At the Clinic’ was selected by the American poet and writer Maggie Smith-Beehler. The poem will be published in April by Eyewear Publishing as part of their forthcoming anthology of the 50 best new British and Irish poets.

Cian Murphy was born and raised in Cork. He is Senior Lecturer in Public International Law at the University of Bristol, where he also sits on the board of the Bristol Poetry Institute. His poetry has appeared in Ink, Sweat and TearsThe Honest Ulsterman, and Envoi.

Further information

For further information on the Bristol Poetry Institute, please contact: poetry-institute@bristol.ac.uk.