BedfordSHARE is Bedfordshire's Poetry Together campaign, led by Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire Naz Knight and delivered by NINE RED Presents… (CIC). Poetry Together is the national intergenerational campaign founded by Gyles Brandreth. In Bedfordshire, it's growing into a county-wide celebration of who we are, where we come from, and who we're becoming.

Here's how creatives, groups and communities can get involved:

The Ballad of Bedfordshire 2026: closes Saturday 31 October
Send one line about Bedfordshire to bedfordshare@wordschoseme.com. Every line becomes part of one collective poem, which will be performed for the first time on Bedfordshire Day.

Poetry Together in Bedford
Five free Fridays at The Place, Bedford: 6, 13, 20 and 27 November and 4 December, 7–9pm. The theme is "Memories and Dreams". Schools, families and older people are all welcome.

Bedfordshire Voices
Free poetry, reading, listening and writing sessions in Luton (Dallow, in person and online, and Lewsey Farm), Flitwick, Streatley, Houghton Regis and Ampthill, from November 2026 to July 2027. Funded by Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation on behalf of the London Luton Airport Community Trust Fund.

Bedfordshire Day: Book Salon and Poetry Recital, Saturday 28 November
Davis Suite, Rufus Centre, Flitwick. The Book Salon runs from 10:30am to 6:30pm, with Bedfordshire authors, small presses and reading circles. The Poetry Recital runs from 7:30 to 9:30pm, with live readings, spoken word and the Ballad's premiere. Authors, poets and small presses: get in touch if you'd like to take part.

Three community anthologies
Butterflies in Shades of Grey (women's voices), The Other 33: Cultural Voices, and Bedfordshire Young Voices. Submissions of poetry, short prose, stories and artwork are open until 30 November 2026.

Bedfordshire on the international stage
On 4 December, Naz will present "One Page, Many Tongues" at the National Association for Poetry Therapy's International Research Symposium. It's free to join online.

Book sessions: artundefined.com/whats-on
Find out more: wordschoseme.com/bedfordshare-bedfordshires-poetry-together 
Contact: bedfordshare@wordschoseme.com