'A poor Cinderella ... plum in the middle': Simon Armitage welcomes spring and the National Trust's blossom campaign

The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has written a poem that welcomes spring, as well as marking World Poetry Day. ‘Plum Tree Among the Skyscrapers’ conjures up a plum tree growing through a “cracked slab in a city square”, and is the first in a collection of poems inspired by blossom that have been commissioned by the National Trust. In his poem Armitage goes on to describe the little tree as a “a poor Cinderella / rootling abo...

Read and leave comments (2)

News and Opinion

Is it now the world’s favourite poem? According to an article in the Guardian, a musical version of John Cooper Clarke’s ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ by the Arc...

Read and leave comments (0)

An anti-slavery poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is at risk of leaving the UK unless a domestic buyer can be found, the Department for Culture,...

Read and leave comments (0)

A Write Out Loud poet and Poem of the Week winner is planning to publish his second full collection this year, after his first was hailed as “witty, s...

Read and leave comments (0)

Primary schools in the UK have “limited poetry book stock” and there are “many barriers” to the teaching of poetry, with a majority of teachers feelin...

Read and leave comments (2)

The Poetry Society’s 2023 Foyle Young Poets of the year award has opened for entries. This year’s judges are Jonathan Edwards and Jane Yeh, and 2023 m...

Read and leave comments (0)

The co-compere of Write Out Loud Woking at the Lightbox, and a regular reviewer for Write Out Loud, Carla Scarano D’Antonio, has died suddenly and une...

Read and leave comments (0)

A new addition to the lively poetry scene on North Tyneside is being launched next month. Poet Dean Jolly will be compering an open-mic poetry night a...

Read and leave comments (0)

Wendy Klein will be judging the £300 South Downs poetry festival competition. The deadline is 15 April. More details

Read and leave comments (0)

Julia Webb will be judging the £600 Ver Poets competition. The deadline is 30 April. More details

Read and leave comments (0)

Manchester-based performance poet Dominic Berry has twice been voted best spoken word artist in the Saboteur awards. The affirmative title Yes Life gi...

Read and leave comments (0)

Oxford-based poet Paul Surman’s first collection, Places (Oversteps Books) was published in 2018. A further collection, Seasons of Damage and Beauty (...

Read and leave comments (0)

This short collection by Joe Williams comes with an evocative cover image by Walker Scott. In a Lowryesque scene in a back street a hunched figure pas...

Read and leave comments (0)

More articles …
Send your articles to news@writeoutloud.net

Please Make a Donation

You can donate to us at our donations page.  Thank-you.

Upcoming Events

Add your gig

7:00pm at Gypsy Coffee House - 303 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Tulsa, OK, 74103, US

Venue picture - Nuyorican Poets Cafe

9:00pm at Nuyorican Poets Cafe - 236 East 3rd Street, New York, NY 10009, US

10:00pm at Heartland Cafe - 7000 N Glenwood, Chicago, IL 60626, US

Venue picture - In Tune Studio

7:30pm at In Tune Studio - 753 Cherokee Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316, US

2:15pm at Zoom - , Zoom

7:30pm at The Sahara - 143 Highland St, Worcester, MA, MA 01609, US

Venue picture - Denver Mercury Cafe

7:30pm at Denver Mercury Cafe - 2199 California St., Denver, CO 80205, US

Venue picture - Busboys @ 14th and V

8:00pm at Busboys @ 14th and V - 2021 14th St NW, Washington DC, DC 20009, US

View more events …

Join Write Out Loud

Join Write Out Loud to post your poems, join in the discussions and, optionally, receive our newsletter.

Visit the signup page to create an account.

Who runs Write Out Loud?

Contact Information

The site is run by a team of volunteers. So please be patient in waiting for replies.

Press releases, articles, gig reviews to news editor, Greg Freeman: news@writeoutloud.net

Poetry/book Reviews editor, reviews@writeoutloud.net

To list events, please submit your event. Queries to: gig@writeoutloud.net

The Poetry Directory of magazines, competitions, publishers, courses, etc. Listings info to: directory@writeoutloud.net.

Moderation, blogging and related issues: moderator@writeoutloud.net

Access/log-in or general enquiries: info@writeoutloud.net

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message