Just one week after the excellent Swansea Fringe which showcased high quality acts from all over Wales, fans of the arts and performance in west Wales will be treated to another fringe festival. This time the programme is international and the events are free.
The Coracle Europe Fringe is an international arts festival taking place in west Wales between Thursday 12 October 2023 and Monday 16 October 2023. The programme features music, art literature and performance. Hosted by write4word the festival champions their values of inclusivity and internationalism. The festival will be in a hybrid format. All events will be in-person with many live-streamed on YouTube and participatory events such as a poetry slam and open-mic taking place over zoom as well as in the physical venues. Some events will also have simultaneous BSL sign interpretation. Venues include Cwrw, Goldstone Books, Tea Traders, Cellar Bar, Calon y Fferi, Green Space gallery. Through its hybrid nature the festival will provide a global platform for local and Welsh artists as well as welcoming a cohort of international performers to west Wales. The festival will particularly celebrate the established cultural links write4word has with Sweden and Ireland.
Festival Director, Dominic Williams, who lectures in Creative Writing at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, said “The pandemic and certain political decisions have provided challenges for workers in the arts to continue collaborating and learning from cultural exchange with our European neighbours. However, the creativity of those who work in the arts has enabled them to see opportunities in the learning we gained during lockdowns and this festival is an example of that”.
The festival programme:
THURSDAY
6pm Festival opening event - Calon y Fferi, Ferryside SA17 5TE
Buildings and Relations exhibition opening, Village poets, Ferryside school children, The Poetry Beast
live streamed on You Tube https://write4word.uk/bdddm4b2
FRIDAY
7pm An evening of bilingualism, dialect and sound poetry - Goldstone Books, Carmarthen SA31 1PH
Ifor ap Glyn, Mike Jenkins Christer Boberg
BSL interpreted event
live steamed on You Tube https://write4word.uk/3zk75pne
7:30pm Cellar Bards with Steve the Shredder - Cellar Bar, Cardigan SA43 1HU
SATURDAY
11:00am Ferryside and Johnstown school children - Carmarthen Library SA31 1LN
Share their work following workshops with the Children’s Laureate Wales, Alex Wharton
1:30pm Visual practice for writers, a walkshop - Carmarthen
An itinerant creative workshop led by Mel Perry
3:10 Shredder Poetry Workshop - Goldstone Books, Carmarthen SA31 1PH
6pm Punk Approaches to Poetry: What’s Hip Hop got to do with it? - Tea Traders, Carmarthen SA31 1PR
live streamed on You Tube https://write4word.uk/mudttbx9
8pm MUSIC: Två Män i en Dambob - Axelsson & Boberg sprider oro - Poets from Unbearable Error - Cwrw, Carmarthen SA31 1BS
SUNDAY
11:00am A literary walking tour of Llansteffan
1:30 Images and Poetry from Ireland, Wales and Sweden - Cwrw, Carmarthen SA31 1BS
Colm Kiernan, Simone Mansell-Broome, Erk Nordström
BSL interpreted event
live streamed on You Tube https://write4word.uk/ynbvjwxx
3:00 The Swedish Take-Over - Cwrw, Carmarthen SA31 1BS
Karl Larsson, The PUUT LIBRARY, Jonas Bengt Svensson
7pm The Coracle Europe Poetry Slam - Cwrw, Carmarthen SA31 1BS
join this event by zoom https://write4word.uk/2p8kjk76
MONDAY
6pm Cerddi yn Cwrw festival special with Danielle Dubrasky - Cwrw, Carmarthen SA31 1BS
join this event by zoom https://write4word.uk/2p8283sa