The perils of running a rural poetry festival were highlighted this week when organisers of Wenlock festival warned on Twitter that their online ticketing system was temporarily suspended because a farmer had ploughed through their landline. A message on the festival website said: “We are experiencing some problems with online booking at the moment because we have lost our landline. Please try later in the week or phone the box office 07561 208 841 and leave a message or email  boxoffice@wenlockpoetryfestival.org. We will respond asap but this may not be immediately. The physical box office will be open in the town on Tursday, Friday and Saturday 10am to 4pm.”

Wenlock poetry festival takes place in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, from 5-7 April. A star line-up of poets includes Carol Ann Duffy, father and son Ian and Andrew McMillan, Pascale Petit, Fiona Sampson, Luke Wright, Matthew Sweeney and Jacob Sam-La Rose. More details 

See Write Out Loud’s new festivals calendar for a guide to poetry festivals around the British Isles in 2013.