Croydon’s first ever poetry and spoken word festival will come to the borough later this month.

Living in Poetry (LIP), a two-day celebration of writers and performers, will run from Saturday 27 to Sunday 28 October at Stanley Halls in South Norwood.

Both Saturday’s and Sunday's events will kick off at 11:00am with a range of free and paid activities.

LIP Fest has been designed and created by four Croydon-based poetry groups, Well Versed Ink, Writerz and Scribez, Young People Insight, and Poets Anonymous.

Members of the poetry groups will be on hand to perform and discuss the artform throughout the two-day event.

The festival’s creators plan to make LIP Fest different than the average poetry event, providing a fresh take by combining scratch performances from emerging voices with masterclasses from award-winning poets.

One of the key performances is ‘Lickle Rum with Grandma’ an emotive piece of new writing by Croydon-based writer Jeremiah ‘Sugar J’ Brown.

The show mixes poetry, storytelling and a Jamaican grandmother’s voice to bring to the fore issues of loneliness, immigration, community and the impact of distance on family love.

With an accompanying intergenerational workshop this will be a great way to celebrate Black History Month and raise the voices and experiences of local Caribbean families.

LIP Fest will host workshops, family creative activities, film screenings, discussion panels, shows, and performances during the incredible weekend of literature and art.

The event’s programme has been designed for all ages and poetry abilities with the aim of offering individuals new to poetry a gateway into the art form.

Along with workshops and discussion groups, LIP Fest will offer open mic performances giving poets the chance to share their work in front of a crowd.

LIP Fest is sponsored by the Arts Council England and Croydon Council. For more information or to book tickets for the workshops and masterclasses, please visit http://www.lipfestival.com.