Makers and Creative Volunteers Those of you who know our festival will recognise our passion for creating beautiful and often quirky installations that enhance the natural beauty of the site. In the weeks leading up to the festival we meet for coffee, conversation and cake and together make miles of bunting, book birds, installations, paint signs, […]
Lemn Sissay is an author of a series of books of poetry alongside articles, records, broadcasts, public art, commissions and plays. You may have come across Lemn’s landmark poem ‘Spark Catchers’ within the Olympic site, as he was the first poet commissioned to write for the London Olympics. Through his performances Lemn explores themes of […]
We would like to welcome you into this year’s Family Area - the Inglenook The Inglenook (our Family area) is at the heart of the Festival - a cosy circle of Bell-Tents and our beautiful Baby Yurt. During the day young inquisitive minds can explore and create, with shows and workshops inspiring wonder and encouraging […]
When you fall in love and have been with your partner for a while, the question of marriage inevitably arises. Friends start to wonder when ‘he’ll pop the question’; your mother starts dropping hints about the ‘next big family gathering’ and your brothers start questioning your partners intentions. Instead of feeling excited, or full of anticipation, these […]
This year we are calling on all you amazingly musical and perfectly poetical performers to join the stages of The Wise Words Festival. During the first weekend, the Wise Words Festival and City Sound Project collaborate to create a space that celebrates music and poetry with the aim of encouraging more people to give poetry […]
CALLING ALL poets, spoken word artists, raconteurs, slam champs, authors, artists, performers, dancers and those with inspiring stories to tell… We are once again opening the floodgates to all you wizardly wonderful creative types. So, if YOU want to perform or bring your work to Wise Words then this is your chance! We’re looking for applications […]
“Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80, Greek three, and English only one. This is indicative of the poverty of awareness or emphasis that we give to that tremendously important realm of feeling. Eskimos have 30 words for snow, because it is a life-and-death matter to them to have exact information about […]
Sir Robin is the watchful Guardian of the Secret Garden. Often found gobbling grubs or composing sonnets in the shrubs, his hobbies include spotting eels in the river, stories and knitting cardigans for the bees. His rakish charm, smoothly rehearsed lines and flirtatious moves have earned him a bit of a reputation. Sir Robin is proud […]
Warrior Poets was born out of an exciting partnership between The Marlowe Theatre and Workers of Art, the team behind Canterbury’s beloved Wise Words Festival. Together with artists from across the Kent and the South East, we worked with young people in care and young refugees to explore and celebrate the resilience that develops through facing adversity […]
I suppose the best answer I have to offer would have to be my all time favourite trip down memory lane… Prison. Clearly the sarcastic humour already begins to cover your second question on how I’m overcoming such a hardship… Anyway, I shall keep the details as simple as possible, not that it’s too difficult to understand, but as to attempt to show […]
I was in my wheelchair, previously, I had been diagnosed with a spinal tumour that left me with a 98% chance of never walking again, so, I was pretty fragile. But I decided to go into GAME to buy an Xbox with my mum. I was at the counter with the money in my hand and the cashier […]
Ninety five percent of the time I function without any problem. Confident, happy and personable. I forget that I have a history of depression, anxiety and OCD. Either I can’t believe these times were really that bad or my mind simply does not record the depth of suffering I experience. They say women forget the pain of childbirth […]