John Greening to judge £600 Ware Poets competition
John Greening will be judging the £600 Ware Poets open poetry competition. The deadline is 30 April 2018. More details
28th November 2017
'Bees had radar in their wings and brains that humans could barely understand'
The University of Minnesota Press has published a fine collection of bee poems, If Bees are Few. Here's one by one of my favorite poets, Naomi Shihab Nye, who lives in San Antonio. Her most recent book is Famous from Wings Press.
BEES WERE BETTER
by Naomi Shihab
In college, people...
27th November 2017
'The Dresser' by Jon Darby is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘The Dresser’ by Jon Darby. He said of the poem: “I started with the item of furniture in mind and by the time the piece was finished I was in tears.” Jon ad...
27th November 2017
Deaf and hearing poets unite at launch of ground-breaking magazine issue
“This is the first time that I’m seeing both deaf and hearing, signed and spoken poetry in one space, and that for me is a dream come true.” Raymond Antrobus, who was born deaf, was speaking at the la...
26th November 2017
Deadline nears for £1,000 Cafe Writers competition
Liz Berry is the sole judge of the £1,000 Café Writers poetry competition. The deadline is 30 November. More details
25th November 2017
Deadline nears for £500 Verve poetry festival competition
Luke Kennard will be judging the £500 Verve poetry festival competition for city-themed poems. The authors of the best 15 poems will be invited to read alongside six commissioned poets at a special ev...
23rd November 2017
Write Out Loud Sale at the Waterside tonight
Joe Williams and Mantz Yorke are the guest poets at Write Out Loud Sale on Tuesday 21 November at the Waterside arts cente, Sale. Entry is £3/£2 to this open mic poetry night, which starts at 7.30pm....
21st November 2017
Last chance for you to vote to support our Community Poetry Toolkit initiative
Write Out Loud has applied for funding to create a Community Poetry Toolkit, to allow poetry group organisers to exchange ideas and share best practices on how to run successful and inclusive poetry g...
21st November 2017
'Feed me, feed me with the only love we know'
I love poems that delightfully offer voices for otherwise mute things, and I like what the following cash register has to say about her life and times. This poem is from Maria Nazos' chapbook, Still L...
21st November 2017
'Leaving Upton Park' by Ralph Dartford is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘Leaving Upton Park’ by Ralph Dartford. Ralph is based in Yorkshire, and originally from Basildon in Essex. He is co-founder of the spoken word group A Firm ...
20th November 2017
Ray Pool at Write Out Loud Woking tonight
Write Out Loud regular Ray Pool will be the featured poet at Write Out Loud Woking on Monday 20 November at the New Inn, Send, near Woking. Sign up from 7.30pm for this free evening of open mic poetry...
20th November 2017
Write Out Loud at Bolton Socialist Club tonight
Write Out Loud Bolton meets at Bolton Socialist Club on Sunday 19 November for another welcoming evening of open mic poetry hosted by Jeffarama! and Gordon Zola. Entry is £1 plus raffle. Get there fro...
19th November 2017
Poetry in the landscape: Felicity's lament for ruined castle
This poem, written by Felicity Lance, at the age of eight in 1997, won a national writing competition for young people that was judged by the poet laureate, Ted Hughes. Felicity’s poem, ‘The Sad Castl...
17th November 2017
Oooh Beehive, Swindon
Here’s the first in a new series of articles highlighting events listed on the Write Out Loud Gig Guide, giving organisations large and small their moment in the spotlight. First up: Oooh Beehive in S...
17th November 2017
Make Us All Islands: Richard Georges, Shearsman
Richard Georges was born in Trinidad, and brought up in the British Virgin Islands, where he now lives and teaches. These were among the Caribbean islands settled by British planters to grow sugarcane...
13th November 2017
Write Out Loud at Stockport art gallery tonight
Members of Write Out Loud Stockport will be meeting at Stockport art gallery on Monday 13 November to share poems. Each month readers contribute to a collage poem, and you can read October’s here. Ent...
13th November 2017
Black Shiver Moss: Graham Mort, Seren
Graham Mort was born in Lancashire and studied English at Liverpool University. After training to be a teacher, he taught in schools, colleges, prisons, special education and psychiatric units before ...
13th November 2017
'A Room Alone' by A.M.Clarke is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘A Room Alone’ by A.M. Clarke, a short, atmospheric work that leaves everything to the imagination. Its opening lines begin thus: "night in the long hours /...
13th November 2017
'You think you know them, these creatures robed in your parents' skins'
Do we ever really know our parents, know what they're thinking, know why they do what they do? Here's a poem touching upon those mysteries. It first appeared in Field. Jon Loomis is a poet from Wisc...
9th November 2017
Write Out Loud Wigan at the Old Courts on Thursday
Here’s a shout-out for Write Out Loud Wigan on Thursday 9 November at the Old Courts in Wigan. Entry is free to this open mic poetry night. As it says on the tin, “people crowd in to listen to bawling...
8th November 2017
The Five Petals of Elderflower: Angela Topping, Red Squirrel Press
Firstly, let’s look at that title. I can imagine some reviewers (usually, let’s face it, male ones) thinking: “Oh dear, it’s all going to be about nice domestic subjects, or be terribly nice and comf...
7th November 2017
Finding the River Horse: Neil Leadbeater, Littoral Press
The heart sinks. Not another poetry collection about the history and characters of an English county, I hear you complain. But yes, here it is, Cambridgeshire this time. Haven’t we been here before? W...
7th November 2017
We've spruced up Write Out Loud's Gig Guide - but we still need your help!
Write Out Loud is a website run and maintained by volunteers - and keeping on top of everything that needs doing can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. We’ve always been very proud of our Gig Guide an...
7th November 2017
'The fire glowed like a red eye through the furnace door'
Marge Piercy is a distinguished poet who lives in Massachusetts. Her most recent book of poems is Made in Detroit, (Knopf, 2015). I share with her the memory of coal furnaces and clinkers, which when ...
6th November 2017
'Early Train' by Trevor Alexander is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘Early Train’ by Trevor Alexander, about a commuter’s unrequited feelings for a fellow traveller. The poem includes these lines: "Some days like all the othe...
6th November 2017
Sam Buchan-Watts to judge Poetry Book Society's Student Poetry Prize
Sam Buchan-Watts will be judging the Poetry Book Society’s Student Poetry Prize, open to all current students aged over 18. The entry fee is £10, but it is free to members of the PBS. The first prize ...
3rd November 2017
