'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
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 Hate, a show about gender identity which features poetry, beatbox and ‘Celtic dubstep’. She is a multip...
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
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
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
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
