A poet who has been described as the poetry circuit’s David Bowie will be appearing at the Aldeburgh poetry festival on Friday 6 November. Jeremy Reed, whose 1994 collection Pop Stars includes poems on Elvis Presley, Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies, Marianne Faithfull, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Lou Reed, Scott Walker and many others, will be reading with Kei Miller and Helen Mort in the Britten Studio at Snape Maltings on Friday evening.  Then on Saturday night, from 10.45-11pm, Reed will present and play “eight seminal songs” at the Plough & Snail at Snape Maltings. His latest collection, Voodoo Excess, chronicles the career of the Rolling Stones.

Also on the bill at Aldeburgh are punk poet and songwriter Attila the Stockbroker, award-winning performance poet Hollie McNish, and stand-up poet Jack Rooke, who will be performing Good Grief, a blend of storytelling, poetry, comedy and film, co-written with his 85-year-old Nan.  

Other poets appearing at Aldeburgh include John Burnside, Kim Addonizio, Tony Hoagland, Jane Duran, Dorothea Smartt, Paul Birtill, Choman Hardi, Zaffar Kunial, and Pedro Serrano. Festival events at Aldeburgh also include talks, discussions, workshops, and close readings of individual poems. More details    

Background: Liz Berry on Fenton Aldeburgh first collection shortlist