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±«Óãtv Contains Strong Language is heading to Sydney, Australia!

±«Óãtv’s Contains Strong Language Festival (CSL) – the UK’s biggest poetry and performance festival for new writing - is leaving British shores for the first time in its eight years—to put a spotlight on Australia from 28th to 31st August 2024

'Poetry is beyond time. It’s a way of bringing together the countless generations of humanity. It’s a means of connecting the past and present. It’s a way of imagining the future.' L-Fresh The Lion

Contains Strong Language, the ±«Óãtv’s flagship poetry and performance festival is leaving British shores for the first time in its eight years—to put a spotlight on Australia. And where better than Sydney, one of the most creative and multicultural cities in the world.

Partnering with Red Room Poetry and the ABC, Contains Strong Language brings together an eclectic mix of poets, writers and thinkers for four days of live events as part of Australia’s National Poetry Month.

A host of ±«Óãtv radio programmes including ±«Óãtv Radio 4’s Front Row, ±«Óãtv Radio 4’s The Verb, and ±«Óãtv Radio 3's The Essay will record and broadcast live from cultural venues across Gadigal and Dharug land in Greater Sydney including Riverside Theatres Parramatta, State Library of NSW, and Sydney Theatre Company. The program includes 20+ events - most of which are free - including performances, masterclasses, live and online workshops, slams, film, and international writing collaborations.

Some highlights include the National Poetry Month Gala featuring Simon Armitage and Princess Arinola Adegbite alongside legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and a raft of Australia's finest wordsmiths, a live recording of ±«Óãtv Radio 3's The Essay series, haiku walks in the Royal Botanic Gardens, an ABC Radio National session focused on Poets from the Pacific, a live heat of the Australian Poetry Slam, a screening of the acclaimed archives film WINHANGANHA with filmmaker Jazz Money and hip hop artist DOBBY, and a First Nations poetry showcase and whale song panel.