POETRY fans will be able to meet and enjoy some of the most famous and upcoming poets this July in Ledbury.

Ledbury Poetry Festival will take place from Friday, July 3, to Sunday, July 12.

This year for the first time the festival will welcome poets from around the world including America, Korea, Canada, Russia and other European countries, as the festival becomes part of the European Union-funded Verspolis project.

Popular UK poets that will be leading the festival include Simon Armitage, Imtiaz Dharker, Pam Ayres, Selima Jill, Denis Riley and Don Paterson.

Special guests will be the actress Juliet Stevenson, who can be seen in the film Mona Lisa Smile with Julia Roberts, and Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

They will discuss topics such as belief and femininity and will read traditional poems by Emily Dickinson.

Dr Rowan Williams said: ‘”I’m delighted to be taking part in this wonderful festival.

“It’s always good to see what deep enthusiasm there is at local level for the arts and the festival is a great testimony to this.”

The festival includes performances, workshops and street events, which are suitable for children and adults.

Some of the free events include ‘20 minutes with....’ – short slots for new and emerging poets - and the 150-year anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which will be celebrated on Saturday, July 4 and July 11.

Each year the poetry festival also organises a prestigious competition for new poetry in partnership with Ty Newydd, the National Writers’ Centre for Wales.

For more information on the programme and tickets visit poetry-festival.co.uk