We are pleased to announce that our Poet on the High Street project is going ahead thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Winchester City Council, Winchester BID and the people of Winchester. Jonny Fluffypunk has been selected as the poet to fulfil the role.

 

Jonny Fluffypunk is a stand-up poet and performer who fuses bittersweet autobiography, disillusionment and wonder into work, which has established him as a firm favourite at gigs, festivals and arts centres up and down the country.

 

During his five-month residency, Jonny will take Winchester’s  communities and businesses on a journey of expression, imagination and creativity to shine a light on the changing face of the historic city’s High Street.

 

"I enjoy connecting with those who wouldn't usually be into poetry"

 

Jonny said: “I’m very proud and excited to be starting this residency with the Winchester Poetry Festival. I'm a stand-up poet, not in the strictly 'comedy' sense, though there is a lot of humour in what I do, but in the sense that I'm most at home amongst people. I enjoy connecting with those who wouldn't usually be into poetry, so I am very much looking forward to working with all sorts of people and asking them to dig where they stand and look around, to draw inspiration from the historic fabric of the city and from their own memories.

 

“The pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, but I want to help to reawaken the city’s sense of place and use the power and playfulness of words to help stimulate community recovery and build meaningful connections.”

 

Winchester Poetry Festival received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £9,100 for the Poet on the High Street and has also received financial support from a successful crowdfunding campaign as well as grants from Winchester City Council, Winchester BID and the Town Forum.

 

Over the coming months, Jonny will hold a variety of workshops and performance events on Winchester High Street, encouraging people of all ages to express what matters to them about the past and to share its significance with others.

 

He will work with local schools to introduce younger audiences to the power of poetry and will take part in Winchester Poetry Festival’s live event in October.

 

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"I’m looking forward to taking poetry out to the people of Winchester"

 

“Poetry has the ability to transport us to other worlds, make us feel things we’ve never felt before and give us the confidence and belief to try things. I’m looking forward to taking poetry out to the people of Winchester and using the power of words to link people with the heritage that surrounds them, reignite our optimism, and unify a very special community.”

 

For more information about forthcoming Poet on the High Street events see the Poet on the High Street event page

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