A north-east poet who was first published as a teenager by Bloodaxe Books is celebrating 40 years of writing poetry by launching a new pamphlet next month. Elaine Cusack’s launch event also marks a reunion with friend and novelist Geoff Smith, who will also be reading new published and unpublished w...

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The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, is lining up the next leg of his 10-year tour of the UK’s libraries. Each spring this decade, Armitage is giving readings in libraries across the UK  and his journey...

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The Poetry Hour is staging a reading by actors of the works of Emily Dickinson, pictured, and Sylvia Plath at the British Library, in the week of International Women’s Day. The reading will take place...

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Manchester is celebrating International Mother Language Day 2025 with two newly appointed Multilingual City Poets, Charlotte Shevchenko Knight and Nóra Blascsók.

Charlotte Shevchenko Knight is a po...

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Award-winning poet Dominic Berry is the guest at Write Out Loud Bolton open-mic night at Bolton Socialist Club on Sunday 2 February. Dominic, who has twice won the Saboteur award for performance poets...

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Friends of Jackie Hagan are re-staging Magic Animals, a poetry session she used to host, in a one-off tribute show on 1 February at Manchester’s Contact theatre.

Jackie, a multi-award-winning poet,...

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The hugely popular American poet Billy Collins will be reading and in conversation with poet Paula Meehan at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, Co Derry on Saturday 8 February at 7.30pm (doors o...

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Michael Rosen, who has published several poetry collections with Smokestack Books, will be reading at a special event to mark the poetry publisher ceasing operations at the end of the year. Other poet...

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Two north-east poets, Marilyn Longstaff and SJ Litherland, will be reading from their new collections at Norton library, Stockton-on Tees, on Thursday 7 November from 6.30-7.30pm.

Marilyn Longstaff...

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Write Out Loud returns to Marsden in West Yorkshire for its popular annual open mic poetry jam at the jazz festival on Sunday morning 13 October 11am-1pm. This year we are delighted to have secured a ...

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A poetry festival that includes headline names but also welcomes grassroots poets with open arms returns to the north-west this week. Pam Ayres is topping the bill at Morecambe poetry festival, from 1...

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Winner of this year’s Plough poetry competition, Trystan Lewis, will be the guest poet at Write Out Loud Bolton on Sunday 8 September at a rearranged venue - see Dave Morgan's comment below. Doors ope...

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A poetry reading on Thursday 3 October – National Poetry Day – will celebrate the return of the Northern Poetry Library to its original home at the main Morpeth Library in Gas House Lane, Morpeth. On ...

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The Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh is staging two open-mic poetry sessions during festival time in the city. Come along to read or to just listen. Those wanting an open-mic slot should arrive 15...

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Write Out Loud’s Graham Sherwood is one of 16 local writers in Milton Keynes whose work has been included in Dreams for Lammas, a Milton Keynes literary festival online anthology on the theme of Harve...

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Lisa Kelly will be guest poet at Write Out Loud Woking at the Fiery Bird on Thursday 27 June. Lisa is associate editor with Magma magazine, has two collections out with Carcanet (the last one was a Po...

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The co-founder of Write Out Loud, Dave Morgan, will be the guest poet at Write Out Loud Woking on Zoom on Wednesday 19 June, reading from his new collection On Not Being Observed. Dave is a writer, co...

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A new open mic poetry night to celebrate queer poets in the north-east is being launched in Darlington later this month. Hook, Line & Thinkers at the Queerish Bookshop will have two featured poets (to...

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Poet Tom Pickard will be looking back to the days when he and his wife Connie hosted Allen Ginsberg and Basil Bunting and many other leading poets at the legendary Morden Tower in Newcastle later this...

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Performance poet Steve Tasane will be delivering words from his new collection Counteroffensive at Write Out Loud Woking at the Fiery Bird on Thursday 30 May. Your host is Rodney Wood. Sign up on the ...

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Pratibha Castle will be reading from her pamphlet Miniskirts in The Waste Land, about her hippie days in London and India, as guest poet at Write Out Loud Woking on Zoom on Wednesday 8 April. More det...

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Write Out Loud Woking’s open-mic poetry night at the Fiery Bird music and community arts venue in Woking will be going ahead on Thursday 25 April after all, after last month’s event - along with many ...

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Described by Allen Ginsberg (writer of Howl, the poem that changed US obscenity laws) as “the most integrated place on the planet”, the Nuyorican Poets Café closed its doors in November 2023 for a $24...

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Described by Allen Ginsberg (writer of Howl, the poem that changed US obscenity laws) as “the most integrated place on the planet”, the Nuyorican Poets Café closed its doors in November 2023 for a $24...

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Described by Allen Ginsberg (writer of Howl, the poem that changed US obscenity laws) as “the most integrated place on the planet”, the Nuyorican Poets Café closed its doors in November 2023 for a $24...

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Write Out Loud Wigan is at the Old Courts, Crawford Street, Wigan on Thursday 14 March from 7.30pm. More details

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Compere Sharron Green is also guest poet at Write Out Loud Woking at the Fiery Bird on Thursday 29 February. Sharron will be reading from her new collection Willing Words. Entry is £5, and doors open ...

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Elizabeth Gibson is the guest perfomer at Write Out Loud Sale at the Waterside arts centre on Monday, 19 February. She is a queer, neurodivergent poet and performer who has been the recipient of a New...

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The next Write Out Loud Woking on Zoom is on Valentine’s Day. Poems about hearts and flowers certainly allowed, but by no means essential. Email Greg Freeman on gregfreem@gmail.com if you’d like to re...

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Come and share your poems at this friendly open-floor poetry night set in the stimulating environment of Stockport Art Gallery. £1.50 donation is obligatory for all attendees. Entrance is round the ri...

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Write Out Loud Wigan is back at the Bailiff Bar at the Old Courts, Wigan on Thursday 8 February. Compered by Ian Whiteley, sign up from 7.30pm for an 8pm start. More details 

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Poet and playwright LInda Downs is the guest performer at Write Out Loud Bolton on Sunday 4 February at Bolton Socialist Club at 7.30pm. Fifteen five-minute open-mic slots available. Sign up at the do...

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Heather Cook will be the featured poet at Write Out Loud Woking at the Fiery Bird on Thursday 25 January. Heather will be reading from her debut, award-winning pamphlet Out of the Ordinary. Sharron Gr...

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Monkey Poet - aka Matt Panesh, winner of many fringe awards and organiser of Morecambe poetry festival – will be headlining at Born Lippy, Newcastle’s mix of spoken word, comedy, hip-hop and open-mic,...

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Members of Stockport Write Out Loud will be sharing their poems on Thursday 11 January at Stockport art gallery. Come and share your poems at this friendly open-floor poetry night set in a wonderfully...

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Kate Hook is the guest poet at Sale Write Out Loud at the Waterside arts centre, Sale, on Monday 15 January. Kate's first poetry book I Can Hear You Ironing is due out in March. Contact host Sarah Pri...

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Bright Stars – Celebrating the Anniversaries of the Romantics in Sussex – involves readings in Chichester on Saturday 20 January of poetry by John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron in his bic...

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