Chris Bridge, Trustee and Poet in Residence will give a talk that is also the launch of the Arboretum’s new publication. This is part guidebook, part history of the Arboretum, part evolutionary chronicle and part meditation on trees and time. The evening itself will be a mixture of talk and poetry reading. Your ticket gains you access to the Arboretum from 6pm so that you can walk round the Arboretum before the talk begins.

The talk/poetry reading will be in the new Tree Health Centre from 7pm.

A copy of Chris’s book, Of Trees & Time, is also included in your ticket purchase.

Join guest poets Robert Powell and Penny Boxall, plus Poet-in-Residence and Arboretum Trustee Chris Bridge, for a midsummer’s evening of poetry reading in the stunning surroundings of the arboretum.

Chris Bridge

Chris Bridge is volunteer, trustee, guide and Poet in Residence at the Yorkshire Arboretum for 2021 to 2022. His first collection, Walking Through, was published by Graft Poetry in 2016. His second collection Tracks will be published by Graft later in 2021. His poetry has featured in Pennine Platform, Tribune, Scrip and Other Poetry. 

Robert Powell

Robert Powell lives in York. He has published four poetry collections  - Harvest of Light, All, Riverain, and Aura, as well as A Small Box of River with artist Jake Attree; and co-produced three short films - The River Speaks, (Canal and River Trust), Source (AmosLAB Finland), and The Angels of Lendal Bridge (York Theatre Royal). His work has appeared in The North, The Rialto, Pennine Platform, and elsewhere in the UK and Canada. He was artist in residence with the Kone Foundation in Finland in 2018. His latest publication is Notes From a Border River, inspired by time spent in Ireland during Brexit negotiations.

Penny Boxall

Penny Boxall's collections are Ship of the Line (2014), Who Goes There? (2018) and, with artist Naoko Matsubara, In Praise of Hands (2020). She won the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award in 2016 and the 2018 Mslexia prize. In 2019 she was Visiting Research Fellow in the Creative Arts at Merton College, Oxford, and is currently Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of York. 

The arboretum will be open from 4pm for those wishing to take a stroll before the reading begins. Wine and soft drinks will be available to purchase. Readings will begin at 7pm.

THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED

Join us for a midsummer’s evening of poetry reading in the beautiful surroundings of the arboretum, with guest Laureate’s Choice poets selected by Carol Ann Duffy, including Karen Smith, Yvonne Reddick, Victoria Gatehouse and Natalie Burdett.

Ticket includes a free glass of wine or soft drink and nibbles. The arboretum will be open from 6pm for those wishing to take a stroll before we begin.

Click on the images below to read our guest poets’ bios. If you are a mobile user, select an image and tap the orange circle to view the bio.

Join place-writing poet Bernie Cullen for a walk around the arboretum stopping at some of the locations that have inspired her writing. Bernie will read poetry inspired by the grounds and a pamphlet will be available to purchase.

Normal admission plus £3.

To book, please call 01653 648598 or email visit@yorkshirearboretum.org.

Join award winning poets Mark Waldron, Catherine Ayers and others for a midsummer's evening of poetry reading in our beautiful surroundings. 

The arboretum will be open from 6pm for those wishing to take a stroll, with the option of joining Bernie Cullen, our recent Poet in Residence, for a brief poetry walk to visit some of the sites that have inspired her writing.

Mark Waldron was born in New York and grew up in London. He began writing poetry in his early 40s and published two collections with Salt, 'The Brand New Dark' (2008) and 'The Itchy Sea '(2011), His third collection, 'Meanwhile, Trees', was published by Bloodaxe in 2016.  He was selected as a Next Generation Poet by the Poetry Book Society in 2014. Hear him reading 'All my Poems are Advertisements for Me' from his latest collection here. The arboretum will be open

Catherine Ayres is a teacher from Northumberland. Her poems have been published in a number of magazines and anthologies. In 2015 she came third in the Hippocrates Prize and in 2016 she won the Elbow Room Poetry Prize. Her collection 'Amazon' was published by Indigo Dreams in 2016. In her debut collection, Catherine explores illness and life beyond it, with honesty, humour, and a melancholy optimism. These poems skirt ancient myths to arrive in hospital wards, laybys and lakes. This is poetry for anyone who has ever lost their way and found an unexpected view. 

£10 per adult Includes a free glass of wine or a soft drink and nibbles.

Booking required please. To reserve your space book beow, ring the Visitor Centre on 01653 648598 or email us here.

Join award winning poets Liz Berry and Mark Pajak for poetry reading in beautiful surroundings.

Liz Berry was born in the Black Country and now lives in Birmingham. Her debut collection, Black Country (Chatto & Windus, 2014), was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, received a Somerset Maugham Award, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2014. Black Country was chosen as a book of the year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mail, The Big Issue and The Morning Star. Liz’s poems have been broadcast on BBC Radio, television and recorded for the Poetry Archive.   www.lizberrypoetry.co.uk.

Mark Pajak was born in Merseyside. His work has been published in Magma, The North and The Rialto (among others), been highly commended in the Cheltenham Poetry Competition and National Poetry Competition and won first place in the 2016 Bridport Prize. He has received a Northern Writer’s Award from New Writing North and was 2016’s Apprentice Poet in Residence at Ilkley Literature Festival. His first pamphlet, Spitting Distance, was selected as a Laureate’s Choice and is published with smith|doorstop.

£10 per person (includes a free glass of wine or a soft drink and nibbles) 

Doors open at 6pm to allow time for a stroll in the arboretum before the reading begins.

Booking essential please. Please purchase tickets below, call the Visitor Centre on 01653 648598 or email us.