Dear StAnza visitors,

On behalf of StAnza and all of the fantastic poets who performed, I would like to thank you all for your part in making this year’s festival a success! Your attendance, both in person and online, helped bring back the lively festival feeling that we’ve all been missing, and has enabled us to keep flying the flag for poetry both in Scotland and around the world.

I joined StAnza as a Digital and Admin Assistant in November of last year, and in the brief time since, I’ve been so fortunate to meet so many amazing poets – being a part of this active and exciting network, having never seen anything like it before, has been nothing short of a privilege and an absolute joy. There’s no doubt in my mind, StAnza is something special, and I’m very proud to have been a part of it.

There were so many events this year that, even as a team member, it was tricky to keep track of them all! Some of my personal favourites included the fantastic readings from Daniel Sluman, Bridget Khursheed and Gail McConnel in Reportage, and the Festival Finale with Kim Edgar, Maria Dahvana Headley and Luke Kennard. There’s also plenty more I didn’t get a chance to see (like the apparently riotous Process & Chance Narratives with Matthew Welton and Tom Jenks) that have been recorded. These events, including the Festival Finale and many others, are available to watch online until 31 March, so don’t worry if you’ve missed out! You can still pick up tickets through our website – just look for events listed as “Digital (online)” – and through the Byre Box Office.

By now all attendees should have received a feedback questionnaire via email, if yours hasn’t arrived, you can access it here. Your feedback plays a very important role, allowing us to update the festival for years to come, as well as supporting our applications for the essential public funding that keeps running the festival. We would hugely appreciate your assistance with this, so if you haven’t done so already please take a few minutes to fill out the questionnaire, and let’s make StAnza 2023 a hit!

Until next year, and wishing you all the very best,

Dan Power
Digital Assistant at StAnza Poetry Festival