I’m delighted to be reading at the opening night of European Poetry Festival, at Lambeth’s Iklectik Artlab. This looks to be a wonderful event in a wonderful venue- a fitting beginning to London’s annual celebration of European verse. I’ll be reading a new collaborative work, created with Sean Borodale. My thanks to organiser supreme Steven Fowler and to Versopolis, under whose auspices this event is taking place.
It was a pleasure and privilege, last month, to read at Littfest in Umeā, in northern Sweden. My heartfelt thanks go not only to Erik, Patrik and all the Littfest team, but also to Versoplolis, that wonderful Europran poetry platform, under whose auspices by event was organised. Below is the contents of a questionnaire s I answered at the festival’s conclusion..
What makes Littfest special?
Littfest is unique because it manages to be somehow both huge and intimate. It is a vast event, with a plethora of readings, conversations, after-parties and performances; and the audiences are uniformly large and attentive. At the same time, however, it is a most welcoming and convivial affair, with the organisers making each participant feel welcome and looked-after, while creating a friendly, almost family vibe.
Most memorable event, thought, or encounter at the festival?
There were so many memorable moments packed into a few days: talking philosophy in the exquisite Book Café Pilgatan, sharing a cheese plate with the cartoonist Joe Casso, wandering by the frozen river. If I were forced to choose a single moment, however, it would be the talk and reading by the Russian poet and writer Maria Stepanova. This was a moment, given the war raging in the east, that seemed to possess a special urgency, that brought the political and poetical most brutally together
Did you learn something new?
What I came to appreciate, more than anything else, is the dignity, fortitude and creativity of the indigenous Saami people, whose ancestral lands occupy that part of Sweden, while also stretching into Finland and Norway. It was both humbling and inspirational to encounter the work of the poet Niillas Holmberg, the rappers SlinCraze and Áilu Valle, and the spectacular closing soiree which featured an ensemble of Saami poets and musicians.
What did you bring to the festival line-up?
I would like to think that, along with my Versopolis colleague Liz Berry, I brought a few honest verses that connected, on some level, with the audiences that came to see us.
What is on your mind as you are returning home?
My mind is awash with images of Sweden, of snow, of the festival, of the new friends I made in Umea and older ones I was lucky enough to meet there once again.
What does Versopolis mean to you?
In a word: community. It was a treat to connect with the Versopolis poets and organisers present in Umea. But it’s also great to feel oneself connected, as it were, to such a burgeoning network of poets across the continent. It’s a special project and one with which it’s an honour to be involved.
Billy Ramsell | Poet 