THE LEDBURY Poetry Festival team has been hard at work finalising this year's programme, and a number of big names have been lined up, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury and the national treasure, Pam Ayres.

The printed version of the programme will land on doorsteps by May 14, but an online version is set to go live this week.

Festival director, Chloe Garner, promising an exciting line-up this summer, said: "Our advice is to cancel any other engagement between Friday July 3 and Sunday 12 July."

This year will see a return to Ledbury, for the first time since the festival launch, some 18 years ago, of the punk era bard, John Cooper Clarke. Back then he was the headline act, and Ms Garner said: "Now Britain’s best loved and most important performance poet, John Cooper Clarke is as vital now as he was in the Seventies."

She added: "John Burnside is our Festival poet in residence and he will offer workshops, give a reading and also talk about his ‘desert island poems’. The Festival will also feature Simon Armitage, Pam Ayres, Sophie Hannah, Jane Yeh, Denise Riley, Imtiaz Dharker, Nic Aubury, Don Paterson, Steve Ely, Eleanor Rees, Matthew Clegg, Chris Jones and Paul Henry.

"The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams will appear in conversation with Marina Warner on Poetry and Belief."

A formal spring launch of the programme, with Michael Longley and Frank Ormsby, will take place on on Tuesday May 26 at Hellens Manor, Much Marcle.

The doors will open at 7pm for 8pm start.

Ms Garner said:"Michael Longley has long been acknowledged as one of our greatest living poets. John Burnside describes him as ‘one of the finest lyric poets of our century’. This is a rare chance to hear him read."

Tickets for this event are available now on, Box Office: 0845 458 1743 or by email on boxoffice@poetry-festival.co.uk