When did performance poetry get so serious? Comedy stand-up poet Robert Garnham looks back at the bizarre old days
There has been talk lately in spoken word poetry circles of the direction that the movement has been taking over the last decade and how it has shifted away from the scene that existed in the 2000s and before. Many have cited the influence of slams and American slam culture, others have pointed out that spoken word has become more literary and closer to page poetry, with the emphasis very much on words and use of language. And...
News and Opinion
It seemed like the best of news when it was announced that Caffè Nero was launching a new set of writing awards, a year after fellow coffee shop chain...
24th May 2023 12:00 am
There’s a decidedly open-mic flavour to this year’s three-week Tunbridge Wells poetry festival, with grassroots poets encouraged to take part in a ser...
24th May 2023 12:03 pm
A much-loved photographic and film gallery in the centre of Newcastle was forced to close in April after losing its Arts Council grant, and facing ris...
28th May 2023 11:19 am
Heather Cook, a regular reader with Write Out Loud Woking at the Lightbox, and Write Out Loud Woking on Zoom, has been named joint winner with Clare S...
30th May 2023 9:32 am
“Once the poem’s finished, the poem’s got nothing to do with me. You put everything into it and you work on it and you work with it, but when it’s don...
20th May 2023 8:17 am
The Beat poet Pete Brown, who appeared at the Albert Hall in the 1960s with Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Michael Horovitz...
20th May 2023 8:59 pm
Steve Pottinger will be judging the inaugural Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists (PPP) poetry competition. First prize is £300, and the deadline is ...
24th May 2023 11:43 am
Zaffar Kunial will be judging the £1,000 Winchester poetry prize. The deadline is 31 July. More details
9th Apr 2023 5:39 pm
The founder of the Forward prizes, William Sieghart, will be judging the £1,000 Wells Festival of Literature open poetry competition. The deadline is ...
24th May 2023 12:00 am
This miscellany of poetry and prose comprises the eighth annual Wordspace anthology produced in collaboration with Indigo Dreams Publishing. All of th...
20th May 2023 12:00 am
Simon Fletcher is a freelance writer, editor and poet who lives in Shropshire, and has published a number of poetry collections. He runs workshops in ...
29th May 2023 1:43 pm
Ros Woolner grew up in the Thames Valley. After studying and working in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Germany and West Africa, she now lives in Wol...
28th May 2023 11:41 am
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