Poet launches first collection at Jamaica commission
Hannah Lowe will be launching her first collection of poems, Chick - a journey round her father, a Chinese-black Jamaican migrant - at the Jamaican High Commission in London on Friday 1 February at 6.60pm. To reserve a place / inquiries hq@renaissanceone.co.uk. Chick is published by Bloodaxe. More details and Map
30th January 2013
Your poem's boring? Here's how to fix it
O No, My Poem’s Boring! is just one of the courses on offer at the Poetry School, which has launched its spring 2013 courses and workshops throughout the country and online. The course on how to rejuvenate your work, run at the Poetry School in London by Jack Underwood, is of five Thursday evenin...
30th January 2013
Anne Stevenson to judge poetry contest in aid of homeless
Anne Stevenson will be judging this year’s Lumen/Camden poetry competition, in aid of London cold weather homeless shelters. The deadline is 14 February and the winner receives 50 free copies of a ...
30th January 2013
How does it feel ... to be a part of your body?
Here's a simple writing exercise. It's new year resolution time ... and many of your promises to yourself may involve you fine-tuning your body after the excesses of the festive season. Write a poe...
30th January 2013
Chance to put yourself on creative map of the health of the north
Poet Char March is working with NHS research policy makers to put together a creative map of the Health of the North – and is looking for health poems to put on the map.
She said: “As usual wit...
30th January 2013
Butcher's Dog poetry magazine in call for submissions
A new magazine that has been set up by poets in the north-east is looking for submissions for its second issue. Butcher’s Dog, published twice a year, is supported by New Writing North, and its fir...
27th January 2013
Romance, satire and politics as Liverpool puts on a show
Many of Liverpool’s poets gathered in the elegant performance space of Leaf bar in the city’s bohemian Bold Street to be filmed for a featured slot on the Guardian’s website on Monday night.
Ph...
27th January 2013
Write Out Loud at Middleton on Sunday
Gus Jonsson is the guest poet at Write Out Loud Middleton on Sunday 27 January, at the Ring O’Bells, St Leonards Square, Middleton, at 7pm. Entry is a £2 donation for this open mic event. Contact: ...
26th January 2013
London A-Z: searching for a poet for each borough
The search is on to find a poet to represent each one of London’s 33 boroughs, including the City of London. Jaybird Live Literature and Southbank Centre aim to find one poet connected to each Lond...
24th January 2013
Strictly for the birds: poetry and music in aid of RSPB in Aberdeen
Poetry for the Birds, a sequence of poetry and music with an avian theme in aid of the RSPB, is planned by North East Writers for Friday 25 January from 7-8.30pm at Queen’s Cross church, Albyn Plac...
24th January 2013
Deadline nears for £5,000 Hippocrates prize
The deadline is 31 January for entries for the £5,000 Hippocrates prize for poetry and medicine. The judging panel members are Jo Shapcott, winner of the 2011 Queen's gold medal for poetry, Theodor...
24th January 2013
Poetry v rap: who comes out the winner in BBC contest?
A three-round battle between rappers and poets in an east London bar which also looks at the shared history of the two art forms and hears from rappers and spoken words artists such as Chuck D, KRS...
24th January 2013
Bridge over troubled waters at the Hole in the Wall
Speech Bubble, a spoken word night to raise funds for those hit by last summer’s floods, is being staged at the Hole in the Wall pub, Hebden Bridge, on Thursday 24 January, at 7.30pm. Performers wi...
24th January 2013
Christian Ward's plagiarism 'mistakes' : is this no 4?
A fourth apparent example of poetry plagiarism has emerged as the row over Christian Ward, the poet who has said sorry for an act of plagiarism that won him a prize, continues to shock and bemuse t...
22nd January 2013
Write Out Loud's new Facebook Community page: 'Like' us please!
Write Out Loud has revamped its image on Facebook with a new Write Out Loud Community page. Look out for fresh news items on there too, as well as on the Write Out Loud home page.
All Write Out...
22nd January 2013
Write Out Loud at Sale tonight
Rylan Cowell, Sarah L Dixon, Gerry Potter and compere Rod Tame will be at Write Out Loud Sale open mic on Tuesday 22 January, at 7.30pm at the Waterside arts centre, Sale. Entry is £3/£2. First-ti...
22nd January 2013
Poet Richard Blanco reads One Today at Obama inauguration
Richard Blanco has made US history by becoming the first Hispanic, openly gay and also the youngest poet to read at a US presidential inauguration. Blanco, 44, delivered his poem One Today at the s...
21st January 2013
Sharon Olds wins TS Eliot prize for poems on end of marriage
American poet Sharon Olds has won the £15,000 TS Eliot prize for her collection Stag’s Leap – poems of loss, mourning, and healing that deal with the end of her long marriage. The judging panel of ...
20th January 2013
Countdown to TS Eliot prize: how the contenders performed
On Sunday night 2,000 people gathered at the Royal Festival Hall in London to hear the 10 poets shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize read from their collections. Simon Armitage, who has become a bit ...
20th January 2013
Write Out Loud at Bolton on Sunday
Rob Goodier is the guest poet as Write Out Loud Bolton returns to the upstairs function room at the Brooklyn, Green Lane, Bolton, on Sunday 20 January for its first open mic of 2013. The start time...
19th January 2013
Rhymechester! Tony Walsh heads night for Manchester poets
Tony Walsh is headliner and host at Rhymechester, doing a full set at an open mic night for Manchester poets at the Town Hall Tavern, Tib Lane, on Saturday 19 January from 6-8pm. It’s organised by ...
16th January 2013
Serpentine sestina or lively limerick? Write Out Loud at Marsden on Wednesday
Write Out Loud returns to Marsden library on Wednesday 16 January, at 7.30pm, bringing poetic happiness to your new year. Have you managed to knock out a serpentine sestina, high-class haiku, livel...
16th January 2013
Ash Dickinson at Petersfield's Write Angle
Multiple slam champion and international performer Ash Dickinson will be appearing at Petersfield Write Angle in Hampshire on Tuesday 15 January, starting 7.15pm for 7.30 upstairs at the Square Bre...
15th January 2013
Poetry by heart: here are the rules for pupils, and the poems
Full details have been released of the Poetry By Heart national recitation competition for secondary schools, which is being funded by the Department for Education. Competitors, who will be from ye...
14th January 2013
Cat's out of the bag - new Write Out Loud competition to enter
We’re well into January now, and it’s time to get writing! Dave Bradley has organised another of Write Out Loud’s ever-popular poetry competitions – this time the theme is Cat Out of the Bag, or Ca...
14th January 2013
Reprieve granted in cuts fight at Stockport art gallery
Members of Write Out Loud Stockport meet at Stockport art gallery on Monday 14 January, for their monthly open mic night, following news that plans to cut the gallery’s opening hours have been pos...
14th January 2013
TS Eliot prize contenders line up the night before award
Ten leading poets who have been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize will be reading from their works on the night before the prize is awarded. The readings will take place on Sunday evening, 13 Janu...
13th January 2013
Loose Muse: redressing the balance for women writers
When I first set up Loose Muse in the summer of 2004, I honestly didn’t think that eight years later it would have grown into London’s premier night for women who write, or that it would have becom...
11th January 2013
Tributes and a piper at Write Out Loud Wigan
A special night is planned at Write Out Loud Wigan on Thursday, 10 January, with a Burns Night theme and a piper, and tributes including commemorative readings to the late John Clays and Janet Rams...
10th January 2013
Kathleen Jamie wins Costa poetry prize
Kathleen Jamie has won the Costa award for poetry for her collection The Overhaul, which has also been shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize. It is her first collection since she won the Forward prize...
9th January 2013
Performers wanted for International Women's Day event
A charity event to mark International Women’s Day is looking for poets, comedians and acoustic musicians to perform. The event on Friday 8 March, at Eden Bar, Canal Street, Manchester, will be in a...
7th January 2013
Death of north-west poet Janet Ramsden
A long-standing, active member of the north-west poetry scene, Janet Ramsden, has died after a brief illness, members of Write Out Loud will be saddened to hear.
Janet died on 27 November in a ...
7th January 2013
Year of the Red Wheelbarrow: but how was 2012 for you?
We have had another fantastic year helping to spread the live poetry word and supporting poetry across the UK and further afield. Apart from various one-off events and workshops, Write Out Loud ra...
5th January 2013
Poetry trails and poets jailed: stories that caught the eye last year
Write Out Loud’s Greg Freeman reviews the poetry news highlights of 2012:
January 2012 started in a big way for Write Out Loud. Frances Spurrier’s wide-ranging interview with the then-Poetry R...
5th January 2013
John Agard awarded Queen's gold medal for poetry
Guyana-born poet John Agard has been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2012. Agard, who writes for both adults and children, moved to the UK from Guyana in 1977. His poems include Half ...
1st January 2013
Have poems, will travel: a chance to read at Cheltenham festival
Cheltenham poetry festival is seeking poets to read at a festival event on the theme of travel. Festival director Anna Saunders said: “If you have written any poems on the theme of travel we would ...
1st January 2013
DA Prince to judge Prole laureate competition
DA Prince will be judging this year’s Prole Laureate competition, run by Prole poetry and prose magazine, which says all forms of poetry are welcome. The deadline is 14 February 2013. More details
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