Watershed

Lyrafest 2026 closes on a high with this powerful showcase of resonant storytelling and cross-continental connection, curated alongside Ujima Radio. Celebrated headliners Theresa Lola and Joladé Olusanya bring rich explorations of identity, heritage and the diasporic lens, alongside sharp local talent and a digital link-up with Poetry Africa. For Lyra Festival’s closing event, join Ujima Radio for a dynamic evening showcase of established, emerging, national and local poets and spoken word artists of African Heritage. With headline performances from Theresa Lola (Ceremony for the Nameless) and Joladé Olusanya (Jabez Incarnate) whose latest books both explore culture, memory and history through a Nigerian-British lens.

Grassroots warmth with literary weight! Lyrafest hosts a welcoming women’s open mic – open to first-time poets and old hands alike – alongside Clare Pollard’s witty, historically attuned readings from latest collection Lives of the Female Poets, and performance poetry from BBC Sport’s favourite slam powerhouse Deanna Rodger. Join the Women Poets' Network for an in-person version of our popular open mic, featuring a feature set from Clare Pollard reading from her new collection Lives of the Female Poets, plus Bristol-based Deanna Rodger. Hosted by Degna Stone. 

Sell out warning! Bristol’s best-loved spoken word series returns with a headline set from legendary iconoclast Salena Godden, alongside avant-garde acolytes from Bad Betty Press: Desree, Antosh Wojcik, and Rowan Lyster. Plus NGAIO will be setting the sonic pulse with afrobeats and global bass on the decks! Raise the Bar and Bad Betty Press present an Autumn poetry spectacular at Arnolfini. Headlined by legendary UK performance poet Salena Godden.

Sell out warning! Free entry! Is this the dawn of bionic bardism!? Lyra Fest goes deeper down the rabbit hole with their investigation into the interplay between creative writing and technology, and the possibilities and pitfalls of their co-existence. Featuring presentations pairing poets with AI researchers to try and accurately model our inner lyrical experiences. The UK's first ever AI and Poetry symposium, as poets, technologists and creatives share their work, ideas and research. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event (advance booking essential) and to join the conversation around AI, poetry and creativity in a relaxed, fun and friendly environment.

Free entry! Reclaiming Scots lexicon for a new generation of queer and trans voices, Harry Josephine Giles makes a subversive, lyrical noise for our troubling times. Alongside our beloved City Poet Caleb Parkin, she’ll host an unmissable reading using weird lit as a lens to peer into the deep vortex of climate collapse. Join Harry Josephine Giles and Caleb Parkin for a vibrant afternoon reading from their newly published books, both with themes around ecosystems, technologies, and singing of new possibilities. Them! by Harry Josephine Giles is an exuberant collection of poems about trans life as it is lived today. Caleb Parkin’s second poetry collection Mingle stirs up the toxicities between landscapes, ecosystems and bodies.