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Poet launches first collection at Jamaica commission

Hannah Lowe will be launching her first collection of poems, Chick - a journey round her father, a Chinese-black Jamaican migrant - at the Jamaican High Commission in London on Friday 1 February at 6.60pm. To reserve a place / inquiries hq@renaissanceone.co.uk. Chick is published by Bloodaxe. More details and Map 

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News

Your poem's boring? Here's how to fix it

O No, My Poem’s Boring! is just one of the courses on offer at the Poetry School, which has launched its spring 2013 courses and workshops throughout the country and online. The course on how to rejuvenate your work, run at the Poetry School in London by Jack Underwood, is of five Thursday evenin...

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Courses

Anne Stevenson to judge poetry contest in aid of homeless

Anne Stevenson will be judging this year’s Lumen/Camden poetry competition, in aid of London cold weather homeless shelters. The deadline is 14 February and the winner receives 50 free copies of a ...

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Competitions

How does it feel ... to be a part of your body?

Here's a simple writing exercise. It's new year resolution time ... and many of your promises to yourself may involve you fine-tuning your body after the excesses of the festive season. Write a poe...

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January exercise

Chance to put yourself on creative map of the health of the north

Poet Char March is working with NHS research policy makers to put together a creative map of the Health of the North – and is looking for health poems to put on the map.

She said: “As usual wit...

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Publications

Butcher's Dog poetry magazine in call for submissions

A new magazine that has been set up by poets in the north-east is looking for submissions for its second issue. Butcher’s Dog, published twice a year, is supported by New Writing North, and its fir...

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Publications

Romance, satire and politics as Liverpool puts on a show

Many of Liverpool’s poets gathered in the elegant performance space of Leaf bar in the city’s bohemian Bold Street to be filmed for a featured slot on the Guardian’s website on Monday night.

Ph...

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News

Write Out Loud at Middleton on Sunday

Gus Jonsson is the guest poet at Write Out Loud Middleton on Sunday 27 January, at the Ring O’Bells, St Leonards Square, Middleton, at 7pm. Entry is a £2 donation for this open mic event. Contact: ...

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News

London A-Z: searching for a poet for each borough

The search is on to find a poet to represent each one of London’s 33 boroughs, including the City of London. Jaybird Live Literature and Southbank Centre aim to find one poet connected to each Lond...

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News

Strictly for the birds: poetry and music in aid of RSPB in Aberdeen

Poetry for the Birds, a sequence of poetry and music with an avian theme in aid of the RSPB, is planned by North East Writers for Friday 25 January from 7-8.30pm at Queen’s Cross church, Albyn Plac...

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News

Deadline nears for £5,000 Hippocrates prize

The deadline is 31 January for entries for the £5,000 Hippocrates prize for poetry and medicine. The judging panel members are Jo Shapcott, winner of the 2011 Queen's gold medal for poetry, Theodor...

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Competitions

Poetry v rap: who comes out the winner in BBC contest?

A three-round battle between rappers and poets in an east London bar which also looks at the shared history of the two art forms and hears from rappers and spoken words artists such as Chuck D, KRS...

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News

Bridge over troubled waters at the Hole in the Wall

Speech Bubble, a spoken word night to raise funds for those hit by last summer’s floods, is being staged at the Hole in the Wall pub, Hebden Bridge, on Thursday 24 January, at 7.30pm. Performers wi...

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News

Christian Ward's plagiarism 'mistakes' : is this no 4?

A fourth apparent example of poetry plagiarism has emerged as the row over Christian Ward, the poet who has said sorry for an act of plagiarism that won him a prize, continues to shock and bemuse t...

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News

Write Out Loud's new Facebook Community page: 'Like' us please!

Write Out Loud has revamped its image on Facebook with a new Write Out Loud Community page. Look out for fresh news items on there too, as well as on the Write Out Loud home page.

All Write Out...

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News

Write Out Loud at Sale tonight

Rylan Cowell, Sarah L Dixon, Gerry Potter and compere Rod Tame will be at  Write Out Loud Sale open mic on Tuesday 22 January, at 7.30pm at the Waterside arts centre, Sale. Entry is £3/£2. First-ti...

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News

Poet Richard Blanco reads One Today at Obama inauguration

Richard Blanco has made US history by becoming the first Hispanic, openly gay and also the youngest poet to read at a US presidential inauguration. Blanco, 44, delivered his poem One Today at the s...

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News

Sharon Olds wins TS Eliot prize for poems on end of marriage

American poet Sharon Olds has won the £15,000 TS Eliot prize for her collection Stag’s Leap – poems of loss, mourning, and healing that deal with the end of her long marriage. The judging panel of ...

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News

Countdown to TS Eliot prize: how the contenders performed

On Sunday night 2,000 people gathered at the Royal Festival Hall in London to hear the 10 poets shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize read from their collections. Simon Armitage, who has become a bit ...

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News

Write Out Loud at Bolton on Sunday

Rob Goodier is the guest poet as Write Out Loud Bolton returns to the upstairs function room at the Brooklyn, Green Lane, Bolton, on Sunday 20 January for its first open mic of 2013. The start time...

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News

Rhymechester! Tony Walsh heads night for Manchester poets

Tony Walsh is headliner and host at Rhymechester, doing a full set at an open mic night for Manchester poets at the Town Hall Tavern, Tib Lane, on Saturday 19 January from 6-8pm. It’s organised by ...

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News

Serpentine sestina or lively limerick? Write Out Loud at Marsden on Wednesday

Write Out Loud returns to Marsden library on Wednesday 16 January, at 7.30pm, bringing poetic happiness to your new year. Have you managed to knock out a serpentine sestina, high-class haiku, livel...

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News

Ash Dickinson at Petersfield's Write Angle

Multiple slam champion and international performer Ash Dickinson will be appearing at Petersfield Write Angle in Hampshire on Tuesday 15 January, starting 7.15pm for 7.30 upstairs at the Square Bre...

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News

Poetry by heart: here are the rules for pupils, and the poems

Full details have been released of the Poetry By Heart national recitation competition for secondary schools, which is being funded by the Department for Education. Competitors, who will be from ye...

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News

Cat's out of the bag - new Write Out Loud competition to enter

We’re well into January now, and it’s time to get writing! Dave Bradley has organised another of Write Out Loud’s ever-popular poetry competitions – this time the theme is Cat Out of the Bag, or Ca...

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Competitions

Reprieve granted in cuts fight at Stockport art gallery

Members of Write Out Loud Stockport meet at Stockport art gallery on Monday 14 January, for their monthly open mic night,  following news that plans to cut the gallery’s opening hours have been pos...

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News

TS Eliot prize contenders line up the night before award

Ten leading poets who have been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize will be reading from their works on the night before the prize is awarded. The readings will take place on Sunday evening, 13 Janu...

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News

Loose Muse: redressing the balance for women writers

When I first set up Loose Muse in the summer of 2004, I honestly didn’t think that eight years later it would have grown into London’s premier night for women who write, or that it would have becom...

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Tales from the Venues

Tributes and a piper at Write Out Loud Wigan

A special night is planned at Write Out Loud Wigan on Thursday, 10 January, with a Burns Night theme and a piper, and tributes including commemorative readings to the late John Clays and Janet Rams...

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News

Kathleen Jamie wins Costa poetry prize

Kathleen Jamie has won the Costa award for poetry for her collection The Overhaul, which has also been shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. It is her first collection since she won the Forward prize...

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News

Performers wanted for International Women's Day event

A charity event to mark International Women’s Day is looking for poets, comedians and acoustic musicians to perform. The event on Friday 8 March, at Eden Bar, Canal Street, Manchester, will be in a...

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Opportunities

Death of north-west poet Janet Ramsden

A long-standing, active member of the north-west poetry scene, Janet Ramsden, has died after a brief illness, members of Write Out Loud will be saddened to hear.

Janet died on 27 November in a ...

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Obituary

Year of the Red Wheelbarrow: but how was 2012 for you?

We have had another fantastic year helping to spread the live poetry word and supporting poetry across the  UK and further afield. Apart from various one-off events and workshops, Write Out Loud ra...

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News

Poetry trails and poets jailed: stories that caught the eye last year

Write Out Loud’s Greg Freeman reviews the poetry news highlights of 2012: 

January 2012 started in a big way for Write Out Loud. Frances Spurrier’s wide-ranging interview with the then-Poetry R...

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News

John Agard awarded Queen's gold medal for poetry

Guyana-born poet John Agard has been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2012. Agard, who writes for both adults and children, moved to the UK from Guyana in 1977. His poems include Half ...

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News

Have poems, will travel: a chance to read at Cheltenham festival

Cheltenham poetry festival is seeking poets to read at a festival event on the theme of travel. Festival director Anna Saunders said: “If you have written any poems on the theme of travel we would ...

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News

DA Prince to judge Prole laureate competition

DA Prince will be judging this year’s Prole Laureate competition, run by Prole poetry and prose magazine, which says all forms of poetry are welcome. The deadline is 14 February 2013. More details

...

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Competitions

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