Traipsing in the Pennine heather at new night on the moors
As the clocks turned back and the moors darkened, November welcomed the inaugural Words Among the Heather, a new poetry, spoken word and storytelling night at Millgate Arts Centre, in the Pennine village of Delph.
The evening was a great success, with a wide range of local poets, artists and raconteurs sharing their rousing writing. There was sincerity, tenderness, humour and, above all, bonhom...
16th November 2024
Soul Feast: ed. Neil Astley, Pamela Robertson-Pearce, Bloodaxe
These are poems that you have to take time to, make time to read. I began by leafing through this Bloodaxe anthology – subtitled “Nourishing Poems of Hope and Light” – and thinking, these are all too optimistic, these are not my cup of tea. And then I found one that spoke to me – ‘Fabrications’, by ...
13th November 2024
'Great poetry endures': national newspaper editorial praises eco-anthology
A new poetry anthology has been praised in the editorial columns of a national newspaper. Earth Prayers, edited by the former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, was highlighted in a Guardian editorial, wh...
12th November 2024
It’s not ‘woke’ to say this is a horror story – rich, lyrical, appalling
‘The Hottentot Venus’ was Sarah Baartman, a Khoikhoi woman from South Africa who was displayed at freak shows around 19th century Europe. It’s not ‘woke’ to draw attention to this; it’s an amazing and...
12th November 2024
Normal, or what? Gerry Potter's poem features in TV comedy
A well-known north-west poet has written a poem that was performed in the final episode of the hit TV comedy series ‘Alma’s Not Normal’. Gerry Potter told his Facebook followers: “The worst kept secre...
12th November 2024
‘Grief never goes away … it is almost as raw now as on the day it happened.’ A mother speaks about losing her son in Afghanistan. Lest we forget
In this month of Remembrance, Write Out Loud is giving space to poet and peace campaigner Antony Owen, who has interviewed the mother of a British paratrooper killed on active service in Afghanistan i...
12th November 2024
Accessibility? Must do better. Shaun Fallows looks back on his Arts Council-funded poetry tour
I could have kicked myself back in the summer when I realised I’d written the wrong date on the calendar for disabled poet and wheelchair user Shaun Fallows’ gig at the Poetry Jam in Durham. I’ve know...
12th November 2024
Poems on exile sought to mark Byron bicentenary
The £1,000 Keats-Shelley prizes for essays and poems have opened for entries. The theme for this year’s prizes is ‘Exile’, to mark the bicentenary of Byron’s death.
Entrants to the Keats-Shelley p...
8th November 2024
Wanted - a volunteer to expand Write Out Loud's Gig Guide!
Did you know that the Write Out Loud website started out as just a gig guide, emailed to poets in Bolton and the surrounding area back in 2004? In the following year it turned into a website, and deve...
6th November 2024
Helen Mort to judge £1,000 Rialto Nature and Place competition
Helen Mort will be judging the 2025 Rialto Nature and Place poetry competition. First prize is £1,000, and the deadline is 1 April 2025. More details
2nd November 2024
Michael Rosen to read at Smokestack Books farewell
Michael Rosen, who has published several poetry collections with Smokestack Books, will be reading at a special event to mark the poetry publisher ceasing operations at the end of the year. Other poet...
2nd November 2024
Poetry of survival: new collections from two north-east poets
Two north-east poets, Marilyn Longstaff and SJ Litherland, will be reading from their new collections at Norton library, Stockton-on Tees, on Thursday 7 November from 6.30-7.30pm.
Marilyn Longstaff...
2nd November 2024
