We are delighted to welcome two popular poets to the Festival's online lounge. 

Helen Ivory is poet and visual artist who makes shadowboxes. She edits IS&T and teaches for Arvon and The Poetry School. 

Helen has published six collections with Bloodaxe Books: The Double Life of Clocks (2002), The Dog in the Sky (2006), The Breakfast Machine (2010), Waiting for Bluebeard (2013) and The Anatomical Venus (2019). Her sixth Bloodaxe collection Constructing a Witch (2024) was a PBS Winter Recommendation.  She is the recipient of a Cholmondeley Award.

'Helen Ivory, a highly individualistic poet and visual artist, conjures a world that is both magical and sharply real. As in freshly conceived fairy tales, everything is transmutable. She expresses the intrinsic strangenesses of life, and makes a brilliant contribution to female empowerment through poems that are disturbing, agile, and visually telling.' – Moniza Alvi, Cholmondeley Award co-judge.

Doryn Herbst, a former water industry scientist working in Wales, now lives in Germany. Her writing considers the natural world and themes which address social issues. Doryn has been published in The Wild Word, Ink Sweat & Tears, Mugwort Magazine, The Storms and Poetry Wales. She is a former staff writer intern at Poetry Wales. Doryn has a collection coming out with Yaffle Press in May 2026 called A Barbed and Twisted Place, which deals with the effects of serious mental health issues on the minor of that household.

​There is an open mic at this event - to get a slot (1 poem lasting not more than 2 minutes) please buy an Open Mic ticket (note there is no need to buy a general admission ticket as well). Open mic slots are limited, if they are showing as sold out, please buy a general admission ticket for a minimum of £3 and then  email zoebrooks@cheltenhampoetryfestival.uk and ask to go on the reserve list. 

Please note the Festival receives no grant aid, and so is reliant entirely on ticket income and donations. Please give generously.

Event Details

From 7:00PM to 8:30PM

Location

Online