On Saturday 21st March World Poetry Day Festival 2026 was celebrated at Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club with Writer Types Stafford and That Little Book Shop.     

Writer Types Stafford led by Ingrid Wagner, is a Stafford based writing group that meets and supports writers through events such as open mic and workshops.     Host David Braziel and the sound experts seamlessly led the event.  

The audience were delighted with Poets reading poetry in their native tongues: Indonesian, Spanish, Russian, Punjabi, Vietnamese, Polish, Yoruba, Benglai and also a poem combining 10 different languages!     

Each language so wondrously different, each bringing a different melody.    

Birmingham based poet, Saida Chowdhury was so thankful to have been invited to read Bengali poetry at the event commenting, "I am so thankful to Ingrid Wagner for asking me to be a part of this and giving me the honour of sharing the Bengali language with those present.     

Representing the country whose people died for the language and were the inspiration behind the International Mother Language Day it was important for me to be here."       The great idea of 'cake breaks' was very much welcomed as an opportunity to connect.     Fish from Oblivion were a wonderful group of singers who sang songs in a range of beautiful harmonies.     

The third part of the day saw Cathy Carson, a Northern Ireland Poet and winner of Spoken Word Slams perform parts of her one woman show. This performance was incredibly moving, making the audience laugh and cry within minutes of each other. The impact was lasting.      

The fourth part of the day saw Charles Kouasseau, originally from Cameroon performing his story of the 'Kings Chair'. Charles had the audience participating from the beginning, singing native African words, playing musical instruments and re-enacting parts. A lovely surprise for the audience was members of the Writer Types reading poems to accompany the story. A real delight for both the eyes and ears.       

Although performing as individuals, some members of the South Asian Women's Writing Group were in attendance, Rebecca Kaur, Ravi Jaswhal, the Wolverhampton Poet Laureate, Dr Kuli Kohli.      

A wonderful event with poetry, music, food and storytelling, showcasing the joys and wonders of unity through sharing, celebrating and embracing our beautiful cultural differences.       

A truly memorable day.