'Twee we're not!': whimsy, mysticism and tragedy in Harrogate
Organiser Helen Shay tells of the “staggering” array of poetry – “humorous, whimsical, gut-wrenching, shocking, philosophical, mystical, confessional, tragic, moving” – to be heard at Harrogate’s Poems, Prose and Pints
PPP has been held on every third Wednesday of the month for around eight years, based at the Tap & Spile, a traditional real ale pub in central Harrogate on Tower Street (up...
31st January 2017
'The Boy Who Conquered Fractions' by Cynthia Buell Thomas is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week
‘The Boy Who Conquered Fractions’ by Cynthia Buell Thomas is Write Out Loud’s new Poem of the Week. The poem tells how a nine-year-old boy - “part dynamo part zombie” - whose behaviour is described by his class teacher as unacceptable is cajoled into understanding division of fractions, and what th...
31st January 2017
Coming soon ... Birmingham's poetry and spoken word festival
Birmingham’s poetry and spoken word festival will take place over four days between 16-19 February at Waterstones, pictured, in the city centre. Organisers of Verve poetry festival promise “establishe...
30th January 2017
'You are now only a person I may hope to meet momentarily'
Seeing a stranger who reminds you of someone else, well, it happens to all of us. After my father died I saw dozens of little old men in hats like he wore, on their way here and there, not quite my da...
30th January 2017
Once more with feeling: four Surrey Poets at the Torriano
The Torriano Meeting House in north London has played host to many poets over the years. On Sunday it welcomed four from Surrey – although, technically, only one was really from that county – plus it...
29th January 2017
'People Watching' by Paul Waring is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week
‘People Watching’ by Paul Waring is Write Out Loud’s Poem of the Week. On his profile page Paul, a retired clinical psychologist, tells a remarkable story – that he used to write poetry in the 1990s, ...
29th January 2017
Summer Rain: Noel Duffy, Ward Wood
I knew the word “entropy” and had a vague idea that matter becomes disordered over time. Nothing more. Noel Duffy’s collection changed that very satisfyingly. It educated and interested me in scientif...
27th January 2017
Looking for poems about courage to put on display in Huddersfield
Huddersfield literature festival, which takes place 4-19 March, is looking for poems about courage, with selected poems appearing in prominent spaces and shops within the town centre. The competition ...
27th January 2017
Jacob Polley's 'Jackself' wins £20,000 TS Eliot prize
Jacob Polley has won the £20,000 TS Eliot prize for his collection Jackself, published by Picador, it was announced on Monday. Ruth Padel, the chair of judges, said Jackself was “a firework of a book;...
25th January 2017
Andrew Marr to chair Forward judges
Broadcaster, writer and journalist Andrew Marr is to chair the Forward prize panel of judges, it was announced on Wednesday. Marr is a former editor of the Independent newspaper and former BBC politic...
23rd January 2017
'One by one all the questions you ever had become clear'
Those of you who've returned home to visit parents may recognise the way the familiar and the strange wash together in this wise and peaceful poem by Robert Tremmel. The poet is from Iowa and his most...
23rd January 2017
Write Out Loud at Bolton Socialist Club tonight
Write Out Loud Bolton is switching back to meeting on Sundays instead of on Tuesdays, organisers Jeff Dawson aka Jeffarama! has said. After consulting Write Out Loud regulars, the first Write Out Loud...
22nd January 2017
'Some trace that stays while the great body remains below out of sight'
Marge Saiser is a Nebraska poet about whose work I have said that no contemporary poet is better at writing about love. Here's a love poem from her new book, I Have Nothing to Say about Fire, from Bac...
22nd January 2017
‘(Mg,Fe)2SiO4’ by Rafael is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘(Mg,Fe)2SiO4’ by Rafael. He has described the poem, which includes a reference to a gemstone called peridot, derived from the mineral olivine, as “basically...
22nd January 2017
Welcome to Leicester, ed. by Emma Lee and Ambrose Musiyiwa, Dahlia
This has to be one of the most joyful anthologies that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. In 2015 the remains of Richard III were reburied in Leicester cathedral after being discovered under a car park...
17th January 2017
Trev Meaney and Steph Pike at Write Out Loud Sale tonight
Trev Meaney and Steph Pike are the guest poets at Write Out Loud Sale at the Waterside arts centre, Sale on Tuesday 17 January. First time readers are especially welcome at this open mic poetry event....
17th January 2017
Deadline nears for £1,000 Plough prize
Philip Gross will be judging the £1,000 Plough poetry competition. The deadline is 30 January 2017. More details
17th January 2017
Deadline nears for £500 Teignmouth poetry festival competition
Mario Petrucci will be judging the £500 Teignmouth poetry festival competition, with Rebecca Gethin adjudicating in the £100 local prize. The deadline is 31 January 2017. More details
16th January 2017
Write Out Loud Woking at the New Inn tonight
Write Out Loud Woking is back at the New Inn at Send, near Woking on Monday 16 January. Entry is free to this friendly and informal open mic poetry night, hosted by Greg Freeman and Rodney Wood. Arriv...
16th January 2017
Theresa Lola crowned national slam champion at Royal Albert Hall
Theresa Lola is the new Hammer and Tongue national slam champion after triumphing in the two-day final at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night. Theresa, a London-based, Nigerian British poet, was Hac...
15th January 2017
'She wants to feel 日本 (Japan)' by Randall Eckstein is Poem of the Week
The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'She wants to feel 日本 (Japan)' by Randall Eckstein, who has just joined Write Out Loud, and is a teacher in China. He explains the poem thus: “In my youth,...
15th January 2017
Poets join worldwide protests by writers before Trump's inauguration
Poets, writers and artists will gather in 32 American states on Sunday 15 January - and in London and many other cities worldwide - as part of Writers Resist, in protest at fears that democracy is bei...
13th January 2017
Humber reflections: Sean O'Brien on how city of culture has inspired poets
Celebrated poet Sean O’Brien will launch the BBC’s coverage of Hull’s City of Culture year on Sunday 15 January on Radio 4 with a reflection on his native city, its waterscape and landscape, and how i...
13th January 2017
Teacher and pupil reunited after 40 years win poetry competition
A former teacher and his ex-pupil who were reunited after a gap of 40 years have collaborated to produce a prize-winning collection of poetry. Gap Year, by Andy Blackford, pictured right, and John Fog...
13th January 2017
Poems for John Berger, Smokestack Books
I’ll confess to having known very little about John Berger, apart from distant memories of his groundbreaking TV series on art, Ways of Seeing. This anthology of tributes to the art critic, essayist, ...
12th January 2017
Write Out Loud Wigan at the Old Courts tonight
Write Out Loud Wigan is inviting poets to “give us your verse on resolutions, your rhyme on absolutions, a stanza on retribution” on Thursday 12 January at the Old Courts, Wigan. The free open mic ev...
12th January 2017
The poetry of age: Maggie Sawkins on working with dementia patients and carers
A poetry anthology created from the words and stories of people with dementia and their carers will be launched at Ashcroft arts centre, in Fareham, Hampshire, on Friday 13 January. The Speak Out poet...
11th January 2017
Get ready to enter our milestone competition
Later this year Write Out Loud will be running a poetry competition for the Milestones Society. It won’t open for entries until the spring, but those of you eager to burn off the Christmas mince pies ...
10th January 2017
'We pull an arm's length of the sail down over itself, then do this again'
I'm fond of poems in which we see people working together, helping one another. I've never folded a sail, nor seen anybody fold one, but here I get to watch it happen, and feel it happen, too. Alan Fe...
9th January 2017
Write Out Loud at Stockport art gallery tonight
Write Out Loud Stockport will be meeting at Stockport art gallery on Monday 8 January to share poems at this open-floor poetry night. Each month a collage poem is created from contributions, and you c...
9th January 2017
Guitar tango: poets invited to take part in music weekend
Poets are being offered the chance to take part in a special event at a guitar weekend at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Poets who would like to read a poem of their own, either inspired by the guitar...
8th January 2017
'The carbon cycle' by Alex Smith is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week
The first Write Out Loud Poem of the Week of 2017 is ‘The carbon cycle’ by Alex Smith, who describes himself on his profile page as an organic farmer, from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, in the US. ‘The ...
8th January 2017
Alice Oswald wins £5,000 Costa poetry prize
Alice Oswald has won the £5,000 Costa poetry award with her seventh collection, Falling Awake, it was announced on Tuesday night. The collection is said to focus on life’s losing struggle with the gra...
7th January 2017
Niall Campbell to judge £500 Interpreter's House competition
Niall Campbell will be judging the £500 Interpreter’s House competition. The deadline is 31 January 2017. More details
7th January 2017
Deadline nears for £1,000 Magma prize
Jane Draycott will be the main judge for the £1,000 Magma poetry prize of 11-50 lines. The deadline is 16 January. A panel of five judges will judge a separate £1,000 prize for a poem of up to 10 line...
6th January 2017
Little Machine pen song for Hull and 'muddy old Humber' to mark City of Culture year
The poetry to music group Little Machine have written a song for Hull to welcome in its City of Culture year in 2017. They performed ‘River Song’ by the group’s Steve Halliwell on BBC Radio 4’s The Wo...
5th January 2017
As in Judy: Rosie Garland, Flapjack
In a neat twist, the collection’s cover design puts the poet’s name directly above the title, offering us Rosie Garland As in Judy. It might seem ironic, with five books of poetry already to her name ...
5th January 2017
'What I want tonight is lipstick. As pure a red as I can find'
There are times when a single word in a poem is so perfect a choice that it pops like a firecracker, and I'll let you guess which word did that for me. A hint: it's a modifier. The poem is by Anya Kru...
3rd January 2017
Gillian Allnutt wins the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
Gillian Allnutt has been awarded the 2016 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. The medal is awarded for excellence in poetry, on the basis either of a body of work over several years, or for an outstanding ...
1st January 2017
