“Verve is the best poetry festival in the UK.”
- Anthony Anaxagorou

Stuart Bartholomew and I founded Verve, the Birmingham Festival of Poetry & Spoken Word. It features world-class poets for a weekend of readings, performances, masterclasses, special commissions and book launches. In just four years, the festival has become an unmissable event in the literature calendar. We’re immensely proud that Verve won the Saboteur Award for Best Festival in 2019.

I was Verve Co-Director, helping to define the vision, direct branding and marketing communications, and support production, along with a brilliant team. I wrote about why Verve is the most ambitious and important thing I’ve ever done here.

If you’ve never made it to the festival, our official photographer Thom Bartley has captured the all the magic of Verve over the years, so scroll down to get a taste.