Push the Boat Out is a new festival for Scotland where a venn diagram of artforms come together, cross pollinate and collide: poetry, spoken word, live music, hip hop, songwriting, film, sound, gaming, visual art and concrete poetry.

Join us for three epic days, 24th – 26th November, throughout Edinburgh’s iconic Summerhall.

In some ways, there’s never been a more interesting time for poetry. From time immemorial we’ve looked to poetry and story to help us interpret and understand the world around us; right now there is an ever increasing richness of artists doing just that in powerful and diverse ways, resonating with wider and wider audiences in the process. Push the Boat Out is proud to bring together artists both established and new in the game, and to create a platform for new connections, experiences and inspiration. We know there’s an audience out there who want to experience poetry as a live artform, who are moved by words and language in all kinds of glorious forms, and this festival creates the space for you to do just that.

Join us at our monthly Rock the Boat Open Mics, explore our engagement work or get in touch to see how you can play a part in our story. Our 2023 programme coming soon. Watch this space.

Get in the boat compañeros! 

Push the Boat Out (PTBO) are looking to support the germination of three new poetry-led performance pieces, responding to the prompt SEED.

In association with the National Theatre of Scotland, PTBO will award three Scotland-based artists working in poetry or a related language focused art form a £1,500 commission to each produce a new piece, to be performed at Push the Boat Out Festival in Edinburgh. The Festival, which features a heady mix of poetry, spoken word, rap, hip hop, art installations, discussion and performance, runs from 24th to 26th November 2023, with the commissions being presented on the 26th.

Read the full requirements and how to apply below.