'National treasure' Michael Rosen awarded PEN Pinter prize
Michael Rosen, who has written more than 200 books for children and adults, and nearly died during the early months of Covid, has won the 2023 PEN Pinter prize for what judges called a “fearless” body of work that provides a “lesson in humanity.” Rosen will receive the prize during a ceremony at the British Library in October. Established in memory of English playwright Harold Pinter, the award ho...
30th June 2023
Wild Orchids: Simon Fletcher, Offa's Press
Simon Fletcher is a freelance writer, editor and poet who lives in Shropshire, and has published a number of poetry collections. He runs workshops in green spaces and places, and was commended in last year’s Michael Marks Environmental Poet of the Year award.
His latest pamphlet collection is cen...
27th June 2023
Selected Poems of Clive Branson: ed. Richard Knott, Smokestack
Clive Branson was born in India in 1907, and studied at the Slade School of Art. Five of his paintings are today in the Tate. After becoming a Communist in the 1930s he fought with the International B...
27th June 2023
Not Glastonbury, but … finding poetry at a village festival just up the road
It was the weekend of Glastonbury. But unaccountably we took a wrong turning, and ended up just five miles away in the next village to ours, at an event called Feltonbury instead. It’s been staged in ...
27th June 2023
Double success for Birmingham laureate Jasmine Gardosi in Saboteur awards
Birmingham’s poet laureate Jasmine Gardosi has been voted best spoken word performer in the annual Saboteur indie awards. She also took the award for best spoken word show for Dancing to Music You Hat...
25th June 2023
Poems on the Underground marks Windrush anniversary
Poems by James Berry, John Agard, Benjamin Zephaniah, Louise Bennett, Kei Miller, and Grace Nichols are featuring in London Underground and Overground carriages to mark the 75th anniversary of the arr...
24th June 2023
Poet laureate's 'Balancing Act' poem installed beside rock formations
An artwork inscribed with a poem by the poet laureate has been installed at the spectacular Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire. The National Trust commissioned Simon Armitage to write a poem, ‘Balancing...
23rd June 2023
A poem in place of a headstone: poet Andy Jackson talks about the Lonely Funeral project
Last month the first Lonely Funeral took place in the UK, when poet Andy Jackson read a specially-written poem at the Dundee graveside of a man called Derek, a former painter and decorator who had die...
21st June 2023
Anthology from crisis-ridden Sri Lanka to be published this month
Sri Lanka has a history of war crimes, assassinations of activists and journalists, subjugation of minorities, the 2004 tsunami and its aftermath, and a legacy of governmental corruption that has led ...
19th June 2023
Look north! Kate Fox gives poetry a kick-start at arts festival
For almost 20 years the village of Alnmouth on the Northumberland coast has staged an annual festival where artists, craftspeople and designers exhibit and sell works in more than 20 private and publi...
18th June 2023
Amplify: Janine Booth, Allographic Press
Following a live performance, there are some poets whose voices you continue to hear whilst reading their printed words. Janine Booth is one such poet. Once heard, her sometimes strident, often mockin...
17th June 2023
Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey to edit poetry anthology
A poetry collection that has been edited by two leftwing political stalwarts, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Len McCluskey, former leader of the Unite union, will be published in November. Po...
16th June 2023
Alicia Stallings is new Oxford Professor of Poetry
American poet Alicia (AE) Stallings, who has lived for 20 years in Greece, has been named the new Oxford Professor of Poetry. She beat fellow contenders Don Paterson, Christian Bök, and Mark Ford.
...
16th June 2023
Simon Armitage takes his harmonium to The Repair Shop
The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has appeared on BBC1’s The Repair Shop on Wednesday, hoping that organ restorer David Burville could revive a treasured harmonium, the subject of one of his poems.
...7th June 2023
Stockport Write Out Loud to host open-mic night at arts festival
Stockport Write Out Loud will be hosting an evening of open mic spoken word poetry and performance at the eight-day Poynton arts festival in north Cheshire on Tuesday 27 June at 7pm. The event will ta...
4th June 2023
'Battle rapper' Joy France is guest poet at Write Out Loud Bolton
‘Battle rapper’ Joy France will be returning to her Write Out Loud roots when she is guest poet at Write Out Loud Bolton’s regular open mic night at Bolton Socialist Club. Doors open from 7.30pm for 8...
4th June 2023
Write Out Loud Woking's Heather Cook wins poetry pamphlet competition
Heather Cook, a regular reader with Write Out Loud Woking at the Lightbox, and Write Out Loud Woking on Zoom, has been named joint winner with Clare Starling of a pamphlet publication competition. Her...
1st June 2023
When did performance poetry get so serious?
There has been talk lately in spoken word poetry circles of the direction that the movement has been taking over the last decade and how it has shifted away from the scene that existed in the 2000s an...
1st June 2023
