Poems from the Isle of Man are to be included in a UK arts and literature festival later this month.

Stacey Astill, the second Manx bard, has been invited to travel to the UK to take part in a part of the festival, representing the Isle of Man in a section of the festival called ’The Shoreline Voices’, which features poets from the four coastlines visible from the festival.

She will be reading her work alongside poets from Ireland, Cumbria and Dumfries.

’The Shoreline Voices project has been decribed as : ’An exciting new exploration that creates connections and collaborations between our four shorelines that are within sight of each other’.

’Insight’, the festival organisers, want to bring together the four areas that they see as having an age-old connection together, created through travel and trade between the areas throughout the centuries.

Stacey said of her upcoming trip: ’I am very honoured, and excited to be representing the island at such an interesting event.

’I am looking forward to hearing the work of the other poets, and the discussion, as well as hearing more about the views others have of the island, as I am usually looking out at them!’

The Dumfries and Galloway festival is Scotland’s ’largest rural multi-artform festival’, which runs over ten days in late May and early June, reguilarly attracting many big namjes from the world of literature and the arts.

Its is hoped by the festival organisers that this will be the first of many similar projects to be announced, examinig the work of like-minded poets from areas closely linked to each other and creating a series of cultural exchanges.

Stacey’s appearance at the festival is backed by Culture Vannin.

This trip was announced soon after the search began for the fourth Manx bard.

Manx poets were last week invited to submit their poetry and see if they would be selected to don the blue bardic robes and hat and sit on the Bardic chair.

Stacey was awarded the title after it was re-instated in 2015, and last year’s title was won by John ’Dog’ Callister’. The venerated TE Brown is the first and original Manx Bard.

Those interestedshould contact [email protected] for more details.