The Cambridge Poetry Festival, founded by
Richard Berengarten (also known as Richard Burns), was an international
biennale
In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally internationa ...
for
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
held in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England, between 1975–1985. The festival was founded in an attempt to combine as many aspects as possible of this form of art. The last biennale in 1985 included a number of events to mark
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
's centenary, including the exhibition
''Pound's Artists: Ezra Pound and the Visual Arts in London, Paris and Italy'' at
Kettle's Yard (later also shown at the
Tate Gallery) and was accompanied by a special issue of the magazine ''
PN Review
''P. N. Review'' is a periodic publication in the United Kingdom, on the subject of poetry. Each issue includes an editorial, letters, news and notes, articles, interviews, features, poems, translations, and a substantial book review section. It i ...
''. The festival is planned to be revived in 2026.
History
The Cambridge Poetry Festival was founded by British poet Richard Berengarten in 1975. It was an international biennale for poetry, held in Cambridge, between 1975 and 1985. It was funded first by the Arts Council, who provided about half of the budget, and then from 1977 by the Eastern Arts Association.
Writing thirty-five years later, Berengarten said that his aims in setting up the festival were for it to be 'diverse, innovative and international'.
The festival was founded in an attempt to combine as many aspects as possible of this form of art. Thus
Michael Hamburger could, for example, recite his English interpretations of
Paul Celan's poetry in the presence of
Gisèle Lestrange and a surprisingly large audience at an art gallery bestowed on her engravings. The sixth and last biennale in 1985 included a number of events to mark
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
's centenary, including the exhibition
''Pound's Artists: Ezra Pound and the Visual Arts in London, Paris and Italy'' at
Kettle's Yard (later also shown at the
Tate Gallery) and was accompanied by a special issue of the magazine ''
PN Review
''P. N. Review'' is a periodic publication in the United Kingdom, on the subject of poetry. Each issue includes an editorial, letters, news and notes, articles, interviews, features, poems, translations, and a substantial book review section. It i ...
''. Twenty-four poets were involved in the 1985 event.
The festival will be revived in 2026, a year after its 50th anniversary.
Literature
* Richard Berengarten
"The Cambridge Poetry Festival: 35 years after" ''Cambridge Literary Review'', I/1 (Michaelmas, 2009)
*
Martin Booth: ''British poetry 1964 to 1984: driving through the barricades'' (
Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, 1985).
*
Rolf Dieter Brinkmann: ''The Last One: Readings / Autorenlesungen, Cambridge Poetry Festival 1975''
udio-book D 59 min. (Intermedium Records, 2005)
References
External links
Elizabeth Thomas and Richard Burns, 'Cambridge Poetry Festival', ''The New York Review of Books'', October 3 1974Rat Palace by Tom Pickard, 19 April 1977
{{coord, 52.20, 0.12, type:event_region:GB, display=title
Recurring events established in 1975
1985 disestablishments in England
Festivals in Cambridge
Literary festivals in England
Poetry festivals in the United Kingdom