THE OUTCOME of the EU referendum this week will be of particular interest to the Ledbury Poetry Festival, which fears that a Brexit could cost it EU funding and end its involvement in an international literary project.

The project was a highlight of last year's festival and is set to be so again.

The festival's artistic director, Chloe Garner said: "Versopolis is an EU funded initiative that the Ledbury Poetry Festival is proud to be involved in. It unites 13 European Festivals to promote and translate their most exciting new poets. The funding also enables the Ledbury Poetry Festival to welcome these poets to perform on Saturday July 2 and Sunday July 3.

"This event was a highlight of the Festival last year because the poets are all strong performers writing vivid and original poetry that opens windows and transcends borders. The poets are from countries including Germany, France and Croatia."

And the project isn't all one way traffic either.

Ms Garner said: "So far eight British poets have had the opportunity to travel to Festivals including in Sweden, Croatia, Lithuania and have had their poems published in beautiful pamphlets in these countries.

One of the British poets, Kim Moore wrote about what Versopolis means to her and how it has helped and encouraged her as a young poet.

She said: “Before Versopolis I'd only really read British and American poetry - after coming back from Croatia, I started to read as much translated poetry as I could get my hands on. It has been an incredible opportunity.”

One the poets from Austria, Judith Nika Pfeifer says “Versopolis is a marvellous thing. It‘s priceless: discovering new poets from all over Europe. Listening to them reading in their own language in a concert-like atmosphere. It‘s like travelling to different places on so many levels; a great thing to have in European cultural life."

But Ms Garner said: "If Britain votes to leave the EU it could mean that Ledbury Poetry Festival will no longer have the opportunity to get involved with projects like Versopolis."

"I think this would be a huge shame because the value of bringing young British poets into contact with poets from other countries in Europe is immeasurable; hugely positive.”