Graphics by Silk Pearce set the scene for The Poetry Trust

The Poetry Trust has unveiled its programme for this year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, which takes place from 3 to 5 November in Suffolk.

Designed by Silk Pearce for the third consecutive year, the 36-page publication features the illustrations of Jessie Ford, whose work for the Poetry Trust will be exhibited at the Peter Pears Gallery in Aldeburgh for the duration of the festival.

Silk Pearce director Jack Pearce explains that when commissioning illustrations for poetry, the challenge for the illustrator is to avoid interpreting the poems too literally or figuratively.

‘The illustrations should still allow the reader to create their own visual impressions of the poems,’ he explains.

The design of this year’s programme carries on a tradition that began in 1989, when the first festival programme carried a cover picture of an Aldeburgh fishing boat beached on the shingle. The Aldeburgh boat image has been a feature of the trust’s branding since before it was reworked by Silk Pearce in 2003.

Now in its 18th year, the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival is expected to attract more than 4000 visitors and will feature more than 30 poets from around the world at 44 events, workshops and exhibitions. Further details are available from www.thepoetrytrust.org, or from The Poetry Trust, based at The Cut Arts Centre in Halesworth, Suffolk.