Ledbury Poetry Festival "embarrassed" with Home Office stance (From Hereford Times)

Ledbury Poetry Festival "embarrassed" with Home Office stance

5:06pm Friday 10th July 2009

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ORGANISERS of the Ledbury Poetry festival have slammed the Home Office for refusing visas to several poets.

Three poets from Morocco and Indonesia will miss the UK’s biggest poetry festival, despite having invitations to the nine day event.

Organisers say a points system, introduced in 2008, is making it harder for international artists to gain UK entry.

The trio - Dorothea Rosa Herliany, and Hassan Najmi and Widad Benmoussa - recently attended similar events in Germany and the US.

“I’m devastating - this is hugely embarrassing,” said Chloe Garner, festival director.

“These new regulations make it almost impossible for us to programme international poets.

Dorothea, a feminist, should have appeared last Saturday (July 4), but officers were not satisfied the poet was a genuine visitor.

Hassan and Widad were due to appear at the Moroccan Poetry and Food session tomorrow (Saturday, July 11). They were approved entry following an appeal, but could not make the festival.

More in next week’s Hereford Times.

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