Free Verse poetry book and magazine fair returns to London's Conway Hall
Free Verse, the poetry book and magazine fair, returns on Saturday 22 February, and to its traditional location in London’s Conway Hall. The book fair is now organised by the Poetry Society, and in addition to a full programme of events at the hall during the day, poetry readings will continue in the evening at the Poetry Society’s Poetry Café.
Free Verse is an all-day bazaar, market, library, ...
16th February 2020
Sale Write Out Loud at the Waterside on Tuesday
Randall Horton is the guest poet at Sale Write Out Loud at the Waterside arts centre, Sale, on Tuesday 18 February. Sign up from 7.30pm for the open mic. It starts at 8pm, and entry is £3. More details and Map
16th February 2020
Anthology of Prose Poetry: eds. Anne Caldwell, Oz Hardwick, Valley Press
Despite what it says on the back cover, prose poetry is hardly at the cutting edge of contemporary writing. As the editors point out in their helpful introduction, it has a history that goes back to t...
16th February 2020
Deadline nears to enter Geoff Stevens collection prize
The deadline is 29 February to enter the Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize, to have a poetry collection published by Indigo Dreams. There are two winners each year. You can enter up to three times, ...
16th February 2020
Poet laureate drawn back to home village with book of poems about Marsden
The poet laureate Simon Armitage is next month publishing a new collection of poems focused on Marsden in West Yorkshire – the Pennine village where he grew up. Magnetic Field brings together Armitage...
16th February 2020
‘As a mother, it's my job to tell these stories’: Louise Fazackerley
Wigan performance poet and BBC New Voices winner Louise Fazackerley has broken new ground with her poetry collection The Lolitas. Its subject matter includes sexual abuse and underage grooming, and it...
16th February 2020
Write Out Loud at Bolton Socialist Club tonight
It’s Bolton Write Out Loud at Bolton Socialist Club on Sunday 16 February, with hosts Jeffarama! and Gordon Zola. Doors open at 7.30pm for this open-mic poetry event, and entry is £1 plus raffle. It s...
16th February 2020
'All day it continues, each kindness reaching toward another'
Tolstoy said, "Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness." I found this poem by Dorianne Laux in Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness P...
15th February 2020
'Your hand a quick tremble in brief illumination'
This is the sixth of Marge Saiser's poems to appear in my column, and I've written elsewhere how much I admire her work. This poem is typical of her clear, accessible poetry of close observation. I am...
8th February 2020
As anniversary nears, do Daffodils fans wander lonely these days?
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wordsworth – and a host of events are planned to mark it, including talks, poetry readings, and even a family reunion when descendants of ...
5th February 2020
Paul McGrane to judge Brian Dempsey Memorial competition
Paul McGrane of the Poetry Society will be judging the Brian Dempsey Memorial competition, with prizes for a pamphlet, and for a single poem. It is organised by publishers Dempsey & Windle, and the de...
5th February 2020
