Poetry online: how five poets from Manila took part in Philippines-Cheshire virtual open-mic link-up
Last week we mentioned that earlier this month a virtual poetry night in Chester was visited by five poets from Manila in the Philippines. It was 2.15 am their time when they arrived - so they must have been keen. It’s a wonderful example of poetry without frontiers or borders in this time of lockdown. We wanted to know more, so we spoke to organiser Debz Butler, of Testify.
She told us that th...
29th May 2020
'Boris, don't do that': poet Emma Purshouse updates Joyce Grenfell with new reception class rules
As confusion lingers over government plans for some children to return to school very soon, performance poet Emma Purshouse has reacted by producing her own pastiche of Joyce Grenfell’s beloved monologues as a harassed nursery teacher.
Grenfell’s catchphrase was "George – don't do that". Emma, wh...
25th May 2020
To Philip with love: letters from Monica to Larkin to be published
A leading scholar has been given access to thousands of previously unpublished letters to Philip Larkin from his long-term lover Monica Jones that reveal the pain of her partnership with the poet over...
24th May 2020
Poetry on Zoom ... the good, the bad and the ugly. From Manila to Chester, but trouble at Wigan
Poetry events on Zoom are undoubtedly a force for good, for most of the time. They provide access for housebound poets, and also allow poets from far-flung places to attend. On Tuesday Write Out Loud ...
23rd May 2020
Michael Rosen leaves ICU after 47 days but remains in hospital
The writer and poet Michael Rosen is still in hospital, eight weeks after falling ill, his wife said today. Emma-Louise Williams posted a message on Twitter saying: “I'm very happy to say he left ICU ...
23rd May 2020
Dominic Berry wins Saboteur award for best spoken word performer
Dominic Berry has won the Saboteur indie lit award for best spoken performer for the second time in four years. After hearing Saturday’s announcement, he posted on Twitter and with a picture on Instag...
17th May 2020
Sarah James and Judith Wozniak win Hippocrates prizes for poetry and medicine
Sarah James has won the £1,000 Hippocrates open prize for poetry and medicine, and retired GP Judith Wozniak the £1,000 health professional prize, it was announced last night.
The awards were made...
16th May 2020
Keats-Shelley House in Rome unveils digital collections and 'dinner' competition
The Keats-Shelley House Museum and Library in Rome is launching new digital collections celebrating the lives and works of John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The launch coincides with the start of K...
13th May 2020
Heartwarming poem posted on Write Out Loud and set to music strikes a chord
An uplifting and comforting poem to help us through the coronavirus crisis and lockdown that was posted on Write Out Loud – and put to music as well – has struck a worldwide chord. ‘In the Time of Qui...
13th May 2020
'Where Did All The People Go?' Carla Mellor's lockdown words for children
As debate rages about whether it is safe for some primary school pupils to return to school soon, Write Out Loud would like to pay tribute to one poet who has helped to maintain the morale of youngste...
13th May 2020
Am-dram days, serial killers, trampoline triumph: Simon Armitage looks back on Desert Island Discs
The poet laureate Simon Armitage delivered his own take on the Covid-19 lockdown during his Desert Island Discs appearance on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday. In an interview with host Lauren Laverne that was c...
10th May 2020
A poem about togetherness - then everything changed. Prize-winning poet Jo Haslam talks about lockdown
Congratulations to West Yorkshire poet Jo Haslam, who recently won the Teignmouth poetry festival prize with her poem ‘The Kiss’. And commiserations that because the poetry festival was cancelled, the...
7th May 2020
Louise Fazackerley on Saboteur award shortlist for best spoken word performer
Leading performance poet – and Write Out Loud board member – Louise Fazackerley has won a place on the four-strong shortlist for the Saboteur award for best spoken word performer, it was announced tod...
5th May 2020
Roger Robinson wins £10,000 Ondaatje prize
This year’s TS Eliot prize winner, Roger Robinson, has won the Royal Society of Literature’s £10,000 Ondaatje prize, which goes to a work that best evokes “the spirit of a place”.
Robinson’s collec...
5th May 2020
