The memory of award-winning poet Matthew Sweeney's previous visit is so vivid that it is hard to believe that his reading was his first appearance at the Ledbury Poetry Festival since 2002.

Sweeney's poetry is often dark and disturbing, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always pervaded with a profound humanity.

His craftsmanship is impeccable, of course: the work of an undisputed master, revealed particularly in his use of rhythm and stress; but its real impact comes from more than that. It seems to stem from some profound inner wisdom, and we are fortunate that the generosity of the spirit that haunts him allows him to share that wisdom with the rest of us. Let's hope he will return soon.

Sweeney shared the platform with Californian poet Fred Voss, who read first. By profession Voss is a metal worker. His poetry reflects his experiences of the machine-shop floor.

Evoking a world few poets would choose to inhabit, it reveals the human foibles and the verbal banter, the macho gesturing, the innuendo and the cynicism, and, despite all that, the essential companionship of factory (barrack?) life.

Voss's writing is immensely witty and shrewdly observed. He perceives his world from within, yet also from without. His verbal timing is impeccable, the structural engineering precise, the finished product finely-wrought and always wryly entertaining.

John Rushby-Smith.