Canon Fodder is a high-energy poetry and music show. It can usually be found at The Social in London and the Free University of Glastonbury. This year it’s coming to Ventnor Fringe on a mission to feed the canon and feed the soul.
One definition of canon is: ‘a list or group considered to be permanently established as being of the highest order.’
But who says?! The problem with lists is they leave people out! The problem with permanence is it doesn’t make space! So Canon Fodder is here to redress the balance.
The poets taking the stage
Award-winning writers, including Cornwall-born and London-based Ella Frears, dazzle with their own work as well as poems they love by poets they love who’ve been overlooked by the canon as we know it.
Live music from Island favourites and beyond
Live music from some of the Island’s finest musicians – Mouth on Saturday and Paul Armfield on Sunday – continues in the vein of new songs and unsung heroes.
At the helm is host and by no means qualified human cannonball, Lily Blacksell.
Open mic: your chance to perform
Want to join in? There’ll be opportunities for open mic poetry at both shows.
Sign up on the door on the day. First come, first served.
About the artists
Ella Frears works at the intersection of poetry and visual art. Her publications include Shine, Darling (shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot and Forward Prize), Goodlord (shortlisted for the Forward Prize) and the poetry card game, Poetry Fruit Machine.
Lily Blacksell is a prize-winning poet and events programmer. Her first full-length collection, Life Immediately, described by the Sunday Times as ‘full of fun’, is published by Bloodaxe Books.
Mouth is a dynamic, shape-shifting group featuring some of the Island’s finest and favourite musicians. Chris Newnham and Tom Farren will bring double bass, guitar and vocals to the Canon Fodder Saturday stage.
The seasoned folk singer Paul Armfield moved to the Isle of Wight at the age of ten, where he now runs Medina Bookshop in Cowes. His albums include 2015’s ‘Found’, inspired by a treasure trove of old photographs, 2020’s ‘Domestic’ which had ten of his own linocuts of native plants paired with each track, and 2025’s ‘Between The Covers: 9 Songs for Bibliophiles’, in which his literary and musical worlds collided.
Paul promoted Between the Covers with a solo tour around bookshops and literary festivals in the UK and Europe, and now he graces the Canon Fodder stage at Ventnor Fringe! Paul’s fans include Mark Radcliffe, Guy Garvey, Lauren Laverne, Caitlin Moran and, most importantly, US!
Where and when
Canon Fodder takes place at The Bijou, Ventnor Fringe Village (Ventnor Park) on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July 2026 at 3.30pm.
Tickets are £10 each and can be purchased via the Ventnor Fringe online Box Office, by calling (01983) 71 67 67 or by popping into Ventnor Exchange, 11 Church Street, Ventnor PO38 1SW.
So come on down to The Bijou to celebrate poetry and music, the happening and the happened! Raise a toast to new discoveries and those we love the most!
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