Cherry Pie: Hollie McNish, Burning Eye Books
Published by Burning Eye under her pen name of Hollie Poetry, and inspired by her grandparents’ advice on newspapers, war, sex and tinned cherries, Cherry Pie is the second collection of poems by Hollie McNish.
Always a sucker for an attractive book cover, I spent a little time admiring the beautiful layout and wonderfully warm colours of the cover art, thinking how simple designs can often be ...
30th September 2015
University awards Jo Bell an honorary degree for services to poetry
Jo Bell has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by Wolverhampton University for services to poetry, after winning plaudits and awards for her work in spearheading the 52 Project, involving weekly poetry prompts and hundreds of poets. The 52 project won a Saboteur award earlier this ...
29th September 2015
The Nailmakers' Daughters: Offa's Press
The latest offering from Offa’s Press brings together the work of three poets from the West Midlands – Emma Purshouse, Iris Rhodes and Marion Cockin - who share with us their observations and memories...
28th September 2015
'At the core of every poet is an immense arrogance and ego': the Forward contenders, in their own words
It’s hard to feel like a poet “when you are teaching 30 children how to play a trumpet”, admits part-time music teacher and freelance writer Kim Moore, shortlisted for the Forward prize best single po...
28th September 2015
Write Out Loud Middleton at the Ring O' Bells tonight
Marion Tong is guest poet at Write Out Loud Middleton on Sunday 27 September, at the Ring O’ Bells pub, St Leonard’s Square, Middleton. Your comperes are Shirley-Anne Kennedy and Eileen Earnshaw at th...
27th September 2015
To sleep, perchance to dream - and then to write?
Experimental poet Winston Plowes is inviting fellow poets this weekend to join him online at Sleepeasy, to “Sleep, Dream & Write”, in a “nocturnal experiment in subconscious writing” in parallel with ...
25th September 2015
Carol Ann Duffy to launch Collected Poems at Manchester literature festival
An evening to celebrate the launch of poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s first Collected Poems, drawing together the best of eight collections spanning 30 years, will be one of the poetry highlights of M...
24th September 2015
George gives poetry its moment in the floodlights at Rugby World Cup opening ceremony
Poetry had centre stage for a few moments at the opening ceremony at the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham on Friday night. One of the UK’s leading spoken performers, George the Poet strode on to the pit...
24th September 2015
The poetry of age: anthology and pamphlet launches in London and Edinburgh
The poetry of age and ageing will be featured at two events in England and Scotland next month. The Emma Press is launching its Anthology of Age on Tuesday 6 October at the Star of Kings pub at King’s...
24th September 2015
CK Williams, American poet of the longer line, dies aged 78
The American poet CK Williams has died at the age of 78, the New York Times has reported. The NYT said that Williams first made his mark in the late 1960s with short poems that addressed love and poli...
23rd September 2015
Still Howling: Manchester event to celebrate epic poem
The 60th anniversary of the first reading of Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem ‘Howl’ is to be celebrated in Manchester with a day of poetry, music, art and discussions. Still Howling will be staged at the ...
22nd September 2015
Yorkshire's Firm of Poets aim for 'People's Republic of Poetry'
A Yorkshire group called A Firm of Poets are offering a poetry night with a twist as they embark on their first national tour later this month.
The group of four poets will not only be performing a...
22nd September 2015
Arguments Yard: Attila the Stockbroker, Cherry Red
Attila the Stockbroker is celebrating his 35th year of being Attila, and doing it in style with an autobiography plus an extensive and ongoing book launch tour. Released on 3 September by Cherry Red B...
21st September 2015
Free Verse poetry book fair pulls in 85 exhibitors for day of free events
There will be a total of 85 exhibitors at this year’s Free Verse: the Poetry Book Fair, from A Midsummer’s Night’s Press to zimZalla, on Saturday 26 September at Conway Hall in London. There will als...
21st September 2015
Kim Moore to read at north-west poetry showcase
Kim Moore, whose poem ‘In That Year has been shortlisted for the Forward prize’s best single poem, will be reading at April Poets’s twice-yearly showcase of north-west poetry at the Storey Auditorium ...
20th September 2015
Write Out Loud at the Brooklyn in Bolton tonight
It’s the last gathering of Bolton Write Out Loud’s summer season tonight, Sunday 20 September, at the Brooklyn pub, Green Lane, Bolton. Your regular comperes are Jeffarama! and Gordon Zola. Entry is £...
20th September 2015
Judy Kendall to judge £1,000 Cinnamon poetry prize
Judy Kendall will be judging the Cinnamon Press £1,000 single poem prize. The deadline is 30 September. More details
20th September 2015
Kei Miller, Olivia Cole and Adam O'Riordan to judge £10,000 Manchester poetry prize
Kei Miller, Olivia Cole and Adam O’Riordan will be judging the £10,000 Manchester poetry prize for the best portfolio of three to five poems (maximum combined length: 120 lines). The deadline is 25 Se...
19th September 2015
In the London zone: award-winning poetry production to be shown at Cockpit theatre
A multimedia live literature production that won the Ted Hughes award for innovation in 2014 is to be shown in London for the first time. Zones of Avoidance, written and performed by poet Maggie Sawki...
18th September 2015
Deadline nears for poetry collection prize
The deadline is 30 September for the Geoff Stevens memorial poetry prize, run by publishers Indigo Dreams. The two winners will have their 52-page poetry collection published by Indigo Dreams and rece...
18th September 2015
Keeping the magic alive: Leamington Spa's long-running PGR Poetry
They have to move from one pub to another from time to time, but a nomadic existence does not dim the enthusiasm of PureandGoodandRight (PGR) Poetry regulars in Leamington Spa. For instance, they stil...
17th September 2015
The Beauty: Jane Hirshfield, Bloodaxe
Jane Hirshfield is an American poet, essayist and translator born in New York City in 1953. She has worked widely as an academic of creative writing and poetry and received many awards, including bein...
17th September 2015
Kim Moore to judge £100 Nantwich festival competition
Kim Moore will be judging the winner of the shortlist for the £100 Nantwich Words and Music festival poetry competition. The deadline is 30 September. More details
15th September 2015
Sam Illingworth on science and poetry at Write Out Loud Sale
The relationship between science and poetry is on the agenda at Write Out Loud Sale on Tuesday 15 September at the Waterside arts centre, when the special guest will be Sam Illingworth, a lecturer in ...
15th September 2015
Goodbye to all that: poets plan farewell party at elegant live venue in Guildford
A popular poetry night in Guildford is saying goodbye to its regular venue next week. The 1000 Monkeys, run by Janice Windle and compere Dónall Dempsey, is staging its last night at the elegant Bar D...
15th September 2015
Schooldays: Paper Swans Press
Schooldays is a new collection of poetry and flash fiction from Paper Swans, a recently launched, small independent press. The contents are accessible, vivid and thought-provoking and offer up fresh i...
14th September 2015
Write Out Loud at Stockport art gallery tonight
Members of Write Out Loud Stockport will be meeting on Monday 14 September at Stockport art gallery. Entry is a £1 donation to this open-floor poetry night, which begins at 7pm. A collage poem is crea...
14th September 2015
Woodchip Anaglypta and Nicotined Artex Ceilings: JB Barrington
This updated, 2015 version of Woodchip Anaglypta and Nicotined Artex Ceilings, a collection of poems written and performed by Salford-born JB Barrington in an award-winning show, includes angry poems ...
13th September 2015
Journalist's Lockerbie poem wins £2,000 Mslexia prize
A poem about the Lockerbie bomb by a former national newspaper journalist has won a £2,000 prize. ‘Lockerbie, Pan Am Flight 103’, written by Aileen Ballantyne, a former Guardian and Sunday Times journ...
11th September 2015
Write Out Loud Wigan at the Old Courts tonight
There’s another chance to hone your performance before the Wigan heat of the Commonword Superheroes of Slam contest next month – or just step up to the mic regardless – at Write Out Loud Wigan on Thur...
10th September 2015
It's that man again! John Foggin wins another big poetry prize
John Foggin has done it again, winning this year’s £1,000 McLellan poetry prize, judged by Simon Armitage, with his poem, ‘Bheinn na Caillich’.
In 2014 John won the Plough and Camen/Lumen prizes, ...
8th September 2015
Scotland's 'makars' thrive among differing tongues
Scotland’s poetry scene is thriving, in a country that is justifiably proud of its heritage and well-known for its achievements in the arts. It’s also a country of several historic and contemporary la...
7th September 2015
Breaking the silence: a call for poems 'in solidarity with refugees'
A group of writers in the UK are inviting contributions to an anthology of poetry “in solidarity with the refugees who are currently receiving so little welcome as they take to boats and rafts to cros...
6th September 2015
Former American poet laureate Rita Dove to give Poetry Society lecture
The Pulitzer prize winner and former US poet laureate, Rita Dove, will give the Poetry Society’s annual lecture next month. Dove’s lecture, ‘How Does a Shadow Shine? Poetry, Music & the Underside of H...
4th September 2015
Elizabeth Burns, a poet of the everyday and the transcendent
Elizabeth Burns, who has died after a long illness, was considered by many to be one of the finest of contemporary poets. Born in 1957, she was better known and appreciated in Scotland where she grew...
4th September 2015
Poetry School's half-price course offer to young poets
The Poetry School is running a course this autumn aimed at helping young poets make the Eric Gregory awards shortlist or enter a first pamphlet competition – and it’s half-price for those aged under ...
3rd September 2015
Gillian Clarke, Ian McMillan and Kate Fox at Wakefield Lit Fest
A reading by the national poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, will be one of the highlights of Wakefield Lit Fest, from 18-27 September, a festival with poetry events running through it. They include appe...
3rd September 2015
Simon Armitage and George the Poet at Canterbury's Wise Words festival
The new Oxford professor of poetry, Simon Armitage, and Cambridge University graduate George the Poet will be headlining Canterbury’s Wise Words festival from 4-6 September, billed as “three days of p...
2nd September 2015
'Brilliant, eccentric, champion of small presses': why there's a prize named after Geoff Stevens
A poetry collection competition that is open for entries at the moment is titled the Geoff Stevens Memorial Prize, in honour of the West Midlands poet and editor of the poetry magazine Purple Patch, w...
1st September 2015
