Congratulations to Write Out Loud team member Graham Sherwood, who has won the Milton Keynes Litfest poetry prize for the second time in three years. Graham manages the profile section for Write Out Loud welcoming all new subscribers, and as a member of the moderating team reads every poem and comme...

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An anthology containing poems by more than 60 poets to mark the centenary of the General Strike in support of locked-out miners resisting pay cuts and harsher working conditions, which lasted from 4-1...

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It’s almost a year since the culmination of the Tenterhooks project - a collaboration between the Marsden-born poet laureate Simon Armitage, his acclaimed band LYR, Marsden Mechanics, and most importa...

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Pascale Petit has won the £1,000 Keats-Shelley poetry prize for her poem, ‘Night Canoe on Lake Sandoval’. A second poem by Pascale Petit,  ‘John Gould’s Hummingbird House’, was highly commended by thi...

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The poet JH Prynne, who became a cult figure despite an aversion to publicity, interviews, poetry readings and having his photograph taken, has died at the age of 89.

Born in Bromley, Kent, in June...

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Partridge Boswell has won the Poetry Society’s £5,000 National Poetry Competition with his poem ‘The Gathering’. It was described by judges Denise Saul, Ian Duhig and Susannah Dickey as “an ever more ...

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I heard that Portsmouth Football Club were planning a series of projects to mark their 125th anniversary. I saw a tweet that the club, and the Portsmouth FC History Society in particular, were looking...

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Four female poets who between them have been largely responsible for any increase there has been in poetry sales over the last few years – but who have nevertheless faced criticism from poetry critics...

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The editor of a poetry magazine has drawn attention to the way another literary journal first published a review of a poet’s book, then withdrew it on the grounds that social media posts by the poet, ...

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Faber is to publish what it describes the “definitive edition “ of Sylvia Plath’s poems in May. Edited by Amanda Golden and Karen V Kukil, it is said to be for scholars, students and general readers a...

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The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has said he hopes that work on the National Poetry Centre in Leeds - one of his key declared aims when he became laureate in 2019 – will begin later this year. In an...

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William Wordsworth’s final family home, at Rydal Mount in the Lake District, has been bought by the Wordsworth Trust, to ensure it can stay open to the public.  

Wordsworth lived there with his wif...

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The poetry world has its festivals, awards, creative courses, workshops, readings, and open mic nights. And these are all well and good. But every now and again someone has a brainwave, that no one el...

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The founder of Aldeburgh poetry festival, Michael Laskey, is to receive the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry, it has been announced. Laskey, aged 81, who was once shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize, said ...

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We at Write Out Loud have been saddened to hear of the death of Keith Jeffries, a long-time contributor to this site. Keith has died after a long illness. Fellow Write Out Loud poets have paid tribute...

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London’s Southbank Centre will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with a national project, A Poet in Every Port, that will tour a number of coastal communities across the UK.

Inspired by...

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Tributes have been paid to Connie Pickard, who with her former husband, the poet Tom Pickard, set up the legendary Morden Tower poetry readings in Newcastle in the 1960s that attracted legions of poet...

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The first US National Youth Laureate, Amanda Gorman, has written a poem to mark the death of a second protester in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents.

Gorman delivered her poem ...

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An American mother of three who was shot dead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis in shocking and disputed circumstances was a prize-winning poet, it has emerged. Renee ...

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Canadian poet Karen Solie’s collection Wellwater, published by Picador, has won the £25,000 TS Eliot prize for the best poetry collection published in 2025. It marks a double triumph for Solie, who jo...

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Congratulations to John Keane, organiser of Stockport Write Out Loud, who has won the King’s English Society’s quarterly poetry prize with his poem ‘To Shame the Wise and Strong.’ Stockport Write Out ...

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Take a bow, Graham Sherwood! Or rather, take another bow! Two years ago we reported that Graham, who manages the profile section for Write Out Loud and does a sterling job in welcoming all new subscri...

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Transport for London is to stage a series of events and publications to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Poems on the Underground, including a commemorative event on Friday 30 January at Bank Tube st...

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An initiative that offers poetry as a remedy and prescription for the stresses and strains of modern life is due to open its third premises in the early spring of 2026. The Poetry Pharmacy, which star...

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The poet and novelist Andrew McMillan has been awarded an MBE for services to literature in the New Year’s honours list. He was born in Barnsley in 1988. His debut collection physical was the first po...

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Milton Keynes Lit Fest is mapping the city in a multimedia project to capture people’s experiences in relation and response to specific places – houses, streets, buildings, parks, trees, lakes, bars. 

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The co-founder of Write Out Loud, Dave Morgan, was given a fond farewell on Sunday as he stepped down from the helm of Write Out Loud’s open-mic night in Bolton. He first launched the night around 20 ...

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The American poet, teacher, and human rights advocate Carolyn Forché was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters at a degree ceremony at Newcastle University on Friday. 

Her works include the famous poe...

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Tom Paulin has won the PEN Heaney Prize 2025 for Namanlagh, his first collection in over a decade. The £5,000 award was announced at a ceremony in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin, organised by...

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I was a little unsure about joining Mole Valley Poets back in 2003. They were probably all much better than me. I might not be good enough. I’d have to share my writing with people who knew about poet...

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Two recent recipients of the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry – Selima Hill (2022), and George Szirtes (2024), pictured – have finally been presented with their medals by King Charles at Buckingham Palace...

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A small, independent poetry publisher has issued a plea to supporters after an application for long-term funding was turned down. The rejection, it says, means “a much harder road ahead”.  

Broken ...

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Arthur Sze has taken over over from Ada Limón as the 25th US poet laureate, selected by the Library of Congress. Sze’s work often draws inspiration from philosophy, science and nature. He is also an e...

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The Forward prize for best collection has two winners this year – the first time the prize has been shared – it was announced at the ceremony at London’s Southbank on Sunday night. The joint winners a...

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In a major poetry publishing event Faber & Faber have launched what is described as the definitive edition of Seamus Heaney’s poetry. It includes critical notes, a substantial number of uncollected po...

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The shortlist has been announced for the £25,000 TS Eliot prize for 2025. The list is made up of well-known poets, two debuts, two second collections, four previously shortlisted poets and a former wi...

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Brian Patten, one of the three Liverpool Poets along with Roger McGough and Adrian Henri whose bestselling collection The Mersey Sound opened the doors of poetry to so many, has died at the age of 79....

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