Bangor has been selected as the final destination on the Southbank Centre’s landmark A Poet in Every Port tour, bringing a five-day programme of poetry events, performances and creative activities to the city from 23 to 27 September as part of Aspects Festival 2026. The project is a flagship initiative celebrating the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary and is championed by renowned poet, Roger McGough.
Home to the National Poetry Library, the Southbank Centre is taking a travelling selection from the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry to 11 coastal locations across the UK. Bangor will be the final stop on the tour, which celebrates poetry, creativity and coastal voices through events, workshops and readings.
The highlight of the Bangor programme will be the arrival of the mobile National Poetry Library to Ward Park on Saturday 26 September, offering a full day of free poetry-inspired activities from 10am to 5pm. Visitors can browse the travelling collection, take part in a poetry treasure hunt, write a Word Exchange poem, enjoy performances on a mini stage and join a lunchtime open mic session, offering people of all ages the opportunity to engage with poetry in fun and unexpected ways.
The full programme begins on Wednesday 23 September with a reading by the New Poets Collective, featuring local poets Amy Louise Wyatt and Denisa Hasieberova. The initiative supports emerging poets from each of the tour locations and encourages them to work with their communities to tell stories, celebrate local dialects and showcase new voices.
Other events include Blue Moon, Fierce Sun, an evening of poetry with acclaimed Ards Peninsula poets Moyra Donaldson, Deirdre Cartmill and Stephanie Conn; Flavours of Galicia, celebrating poetry, language and culture with visiting poet Fran Fernández Davila; A Silent War, a collaborative poetry and film event inspired by Ross Thompson’s lockdown poems; and Poetry Paths and Picnics, an outdoor poetry experience in the woodlands of Clandeboye Estate.
The programme concludes on Sunday 27 September with the 13th Bangor Poetry Competition and the launch of Issue 24 of The Bangor Literary Journal, at Bangor Castle.
Patricia Hamilton, Arts Officer with Ards and North Down Borough Council, said:
“We are delighted that Bangor has been chosen as the final destination for A Poet in Every Port. This unique partnership with the Southbank Centre offers audiences the chance to experience poetry in new ways, celebrating our local poets alongside local words and dialects. The visit of the mobile National Poetry Library is a particularly exciting addition to this year’s Aspects Festival programme, and we look forward to welcoming people of all ages to discover, enjoy and take part in these creative events.”
A Poet in Every Port forms part of the wider Aspects Festival, which runs from 23 September to 4 October and features a diverse programme of literary events, workshops, performances and conversations with writers from across the island of Ireland.
For full programme details and booking information visit https://aspectsfestival.com/
