Description
Join us for the return of the much-loved Lyrical Mehfil, an annual celebration of lyrical poetry inspired by the rich tradition of South Asian mehfils, intimate gatherings of music, verse and storytelling once held in the courts and homes of nobility.
This year’s event brings together a dazzling line-up of acclaimed poets whose powerful voices and innovative styles promise an unforgettable evening of performance and connection. Set within an intimate atmosphere, Lyrical Mehfil offers audiences the chance to experience poetry at its most moving, musical and personal.
Celebrate language, culture and creativity at one of the festival’s most popular events.
About the Poets
John Siddique
John Siddique is an author, photographer, and sacred teacher. He is the author of nine books, including Signposts of The Spiritual Journey, SO: Collected New Poems 2011–21, and the widely loved children’s collection Don’t Wear It on Your Head. His writing and photography explore conscience, humanity, and the sacred within ordinary life.
His work has been featured in Time, The Guardian, Granta, The Tablet, and on BBC Radio 3 and 4. He is Project Co-ordinator for the Royal Literary Fund and WritersMosaic North of England.
More at JohnSiddique.com and AuthenticLiving.life.
Dr Catherine Redford
Catherine Redford is a poet and scholar whose Forward-nominated debut collection, The Way the Water Held Me, explores young widowhood, grief and motherhood. A Magma Selected Poet, Redford’s work has appeared in Under the Radar, Propel and Lighthouse. Redford is an editor at Dust Poetry magazine and has published widely on Romantic and Victorian literature, particularly Mary Shelley and the Gothic.
Hanan Issa
Hanan Issa is a Welsh-Iraqi writer, artist and the National Poet of Wales. Issa’s work spans poetry, prose, theatre, film and animation, including the award-winning collection My Body Can House Two Hearts and children’s anthology And I Hear Dragons. Issa contributed to Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts, was Hay International Fellow in 2023, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Bangor University in 2025.
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