Seren Cardiff Poetry Festival

Christian Brown

We are dedicating our 2019 festival to the inspirational whirlwind that was Christian Brown, OBE, KSG, Co-Director of our First Festival and the force behind the restoration of the beautiful Cornerstone building in Charles Street.

Christian sadly died in 2018, but he left a legacy of passionate involvement in the arts, particularly poetry and music. We salute his memory.

“Christian Brown was an irrepressible font of enthusiasm for the arts and as co-founder of the Seren/Cornerstone Poetry festival he has contributed to the culture of Wales in no small measure. We celebrate his vision, courage and considerable humour. He will be missed.” – Amy Wack, Seren Poetry Editor

Christian is pictured with Cornerstone Poet in Residence Katherine Stansfield, who performed in the Seren/Cornerstone Poetry Festival, which took place for the first time in February 2018.

The festival would not have taken place without Christian’s dynamic leadership and his passion for poetry; we will be forever grateful for his partnership and support.

‘He was full of enthusiasm for the role of poetry in Cornerstone’s new life, believing it could offer a special record of the year’s events, diverse as they were. As poet-in-residence it was my job to capture life at Cornerstone – a bustling place with a rich history of different forms of worship – in five poems, written over the course of twelve months.’
Katherine Stansfield (read more)

If you have any queries you can get in touch with the festival team through our Contact page

“The first Cornerstone Poetry Festival did what the name says: it laid the foundations for building an exciting, diverse and top class celebration of poetry that is a credit to Cardiff and to Wales. It brought spring bouncing into a chilly February weekend.’

Robert Walton, poet