Iris Anne Lewis was a guest reader at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival alongside Derek Healey and Isabel Galleymore. Something Old, Something New featured Gloucestershire poets, each of whom read a selection of their own work plus a poem from a Gloucestershire poet from the past. Iris’s set included poems on the theme of mothers and daughters, the Faroe Islands and her home village, Kempsford. She finished by reading a poem by William Hayward, who served in the Boer War. His poignant poem Kempsford Bells tells how he longed to hear the sound of Kempsford church bells when he was far away from home.
Iris said: ‘It was a lovely experience to be reading to a packed audience at the prestigious Cheltenham Poetry Festival and to listen to Derek and Isabel’s talented work.’
Somewhere Else Writers Group 