Women In Frame - Gillian Clarke And Claire Eastgate

At a time when extraordinary women poets are lighting up the face of contemporary poetry, Poet in the City invites you to the launch of an ambitious project painting the foundations for a new female legacy.

Women in Frame is an evening that puts some of the most significant female poets today in focus, celebrating the creation of a new project that fuses the arts of poetry and portraiture with an exciting programme of workshops and live poetry performances.

In 2016, portrait artist Claire Eastgate set out to paint a double portrait of Carol Ann Duffy, the first female Poet Laureate in the post’s 341-year history, and former National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke. The finished portrait is a powerful depiction of two remarkable women poets, capturing Duffy and close friend Clarke with quiet reverence.

From here Eastgate’s interest in contemporary female poets grew, and she began Painting the Poets, a series of portraits depicting a diverse range of contemporary women poets, both established and emerging. The final collection, comprising around 28 portraits, will be a unique record and snapshot of the female poets of today, as captured through the medium of portraiture.

Over the course of the night, we are offering you the chance to come and get to know some of the trailblazing poets at the centre of the portraits. You’ll have the opportunity to experience poetry intimately with one-on-one readings from rising star Lisa Luxx, debate with celebrated poet Sabrina Mahfouz, and join us on the main stage for a finale event with Gillian Clarke, who will be reading from her latest collection Zoology. Together, Eastgate, Clarke and some of the poets featured will explore how both poetry and portraiture can reflect and interpret the voices of contemporary women.