The picturesque church of St John in Orcop has gained a considerable reputation as “The Poets’ Church",hosting annual poetry readings from a stream of eminent poets including much-loved Welsh poet, Gillian Clarke, Anglo-American writer, Anne Stevenson, Costa Prize winner Jonathan Edwards and Adam Horovitz.

This year brings poet and journalist, Roger Garfitt to Orcop to perform In All My Holy Mountain, a work which combines a new sequence of poems with a recorded jazz accompaniment composed by Nikki Iles and performed by the John William Octet.

The new collaboration is based on the life of Shropshire author Mary Webb, best known for her lyrical novel, Precious Bane. The fusion of words and music has garnered enthusiastic reviews throughout the UK with Iles’s music blending horn and keyboards based jazz with more traditional English folk influences.

For Roger Garfitt Orcop church holds a special significance, it being the place where his late wife, the poet Frances Horovitz, is buried. It is as a tribute to her that St John’s has become a special venue for poets and poetry. Tickets for the event on Saturday, October 14 at 3pm, cost £8 and proceeds will go towards the upkeep of the church. Refreshments in the interval. To book, call 01981 580086 or 01981 580418.