Exactly, Louise! Poet sees red over outbreak of St George’s flags
Some of you may have noticed St George’s flags sprouting on local lamp-posts, or daubed on mini-roundabouts. Maybe it’s made you angry. Or maybe you haven’t minded, or are even enthused by it. Performance poet Louise Fazackerley – aka Louise Exactly - does mind. She has posted a poem on YouTube titled ‘I Want My Country Back’, which takes aim at the “front face of fascism”, has been shared many ti...
31st August 2025
Poetry ‘forged from survival’: Max Wallis’s Aftershock Review
A poet from the north-west has launched a poetry magazine which says it is composed of “literature forged from survival - poems shaped by psychosis, PTSD, cancer, addiction, injustice, and the griefs that leave lasting marks. But crisis is not our only mode. This issue also celebrates queer love, te...
30th August 2025
Strong line-up of events as BBC festival comes to Bradford
Contains Strong Language is the BBC’s annual celebration of poetry, performance and spoken word – and this year, it’s coming to Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
There’ll be four days of performanc...
30th August 2025
Hôtel Amour: Deryn Rees-Jones, Seren
Anglo-Welsh poet, editor and critic Deryn Rees-Jones was named as one of the Next Generation Poets following her debut collection, The Memory Tray (Seren,1994) which was shortlisted for the Forward Pr...
30th August 2025
Beside the seaside ... Write Out Loud is going to Morecambe!
Write Out Loud is going to Morecambe poetry festival in September! To mark our regard for this fabulous festival combining top names and grassroots poets - and to celebrate our 20th anniversary year -...
30th August 2025
‘Where are all the Great Poets? And do we still need them?’
On the 12th anniversary of Seamus Heaney’s death - on 30 August - here’s a timely discussion topic from the former Scotland makar, Kathleen Jamie, who asks: “Where are all the Great Poets?” Her words ...
30th August 2025
How science show presenter Robin Ince turned to poetry
Comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince, who presents BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage science show with co-creator Professor Brian Cox, has published his first book of poetry. Ice Cream for a Bro...
23rd August 2025
Our return ticket to Marsden! Write Out Loud's poetry jam at the jazz festival
Write Out Loud's annual poetry jam returns on Sunday 12 October this year to Marsden Socialist Club as part of Marsden’s annual jazz festival. Those who came last year may recall our exclusive access ...
16th August 2025
BSL poets shortlisted among contenders for Forward prizes
Raymond Antrobus and Zoë McWhinney have been shortlisted in the performance poem category for the 2025 Forward prizes, in the first year the prize has been open to poems performed in British Sign Lang...
16th August 2025
Poet Alice Oswald arrested at Palestine Action protest
The award-winning poet Alice Oswald, a former Oxford professor of poetry, was among more than 500 people arrested during the latest protest in London on Saturday over the proscribing of the group Pale...
10th August 2025
Why poem titles matter more than you might think
You’ve just read a brilliant poem. The language sparkled, the images lingered, the last line knocked the breath out of you. But 10 minutes later, you’re trying to tell someone about it and you’ve forg...
5th August 2025
Going live! How my pamphlet publication opened door to spoken word scene
I am standing in a ‘community hub’. This takes the form of a prefabricated, restyled chicken shed in the middle of a playing field in my home village of Great Barrow, near Chester. It is a lovely summ...
4th August 2025
'What can writers and poets possibly do in the age of Trump, Farage and Starmer?'
Having been invited by Andy Croft to take part in the launch of Release the Sausages!: poems for Keir Starmer (Culture Matters), an anthology of poetry that contains no poems, I was curious as to what...
2nd August 2025
