'Insta poet' Donna Ashworth leads big rise in poetry book sales
One of the big poetry stories at the end of 2023 was the rise in poetry book sales. It is interesting to look at the story behind the rise in sales figures, and at some of the statistics. For instance, newly-published Scottish poet Donna Ashworth, pictured, has ended 2023 with five of her books in the Top 20 poetry chart, and three of them in the top five. Nearly 70,000 of her hardback books have ...
31st December 2023
'If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale': words of Palestinian poet killed in Gaza
A well-known Palestinian poet and literary scholar, Refaat Alareer, is one of more than 17,000 people said to have been killed in Israel's retalitory attacks on Gaza since the October 7 atrocities by Hamas, in which around 1,200 people died. He was killed in an air strike in Gaza City last Wednesday...
13th December 2023
Bradford honours Nick Toczek with 'outstanding contribution' award
Performance poet Nick Toczek has received an Outstanding Contribution award from Bradford University in recognition of his long-standing and diverse career with Bradford's arts and culture sector as a...
13th December 2023
It’s not cricket: Covid inquiry evidence prompts Michael Rosen poem
Poet Michael Rosen, who spent 48 days in intensive care in 2020 after contracting Coronavirus early on during the pandemic, has been spurred to write a short, angry poem after hearing evidence from th...
10th December 2023
'A joyful and fantastic legacy': Benjamin Zephaniah dies of brain tumour aged 65
Poet, actor, musician, writer, campaigner, TV presenter Benjamin Zephaniah has died after a short illness. A post on his Instagram account reads: "Professor Benjamin Zephaniah, 15th April 1958 – 7th D...
8th December 2023
