Live and online all-day Poem-a-Thon raises over £25,000 to aid Ukraine
The Poem-a-Thon, a fundraising project to aid people in Ukraine, took place on Mothers Day, and involved 50 poets reading for five minutes each between 11am and 5pm, at JW3, a Jewish arts and community centre in north London, either in-person or via Zoom. In the evening there was a “gala event”, with high-profile poets lending their voices to the cause, which raised more than £25,000.
Alasdair ...
28th March 2022
Remembering Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and painter, with immersive exhibition
As the Russian invasion continues, with the intention, it seems, of erasing Ukraine from the map, an exhibition in Chicago recalls a 19th-century poet and painter who put himself in danger by writing of Russian oppression and his dream of independence for his country, forcing him to spend years in e...
24th March 2022
'We are better now - that is the hope': Simon Armitage's poem to mark second Covid anniversary
The poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has given a reading of his new poem, ‘Only Human’, that was commissioned by York Minster to mark the second National Day of Reflection for Covid-19 on 23 March 2022.
...24th March 2022
Bursary fund in memory of David Andrew to support young poets
The children of David Andrew, Lydia and Felix, are setting up a bursary aimed at supporting young poets, in memory of their father and mother. Felix said: “I work for a creative arts charity, Eastside...
23rd March 2022
NeurodiVERSE anthology by poets who think differently
An anthology of poetry by more than 50 neurodivergent writers from the UK and across the world is being published by Manchester’s Flapjack Press. ‘Neurodivergence’ is defined as a variance in mental o...
22nd March 2022
Lemn Sissay and Grace Nichols receive royal awards
Two leading poets received awards from royalty yesterday. Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay collected his OBE from Prince Charles for services to literature and to charity.
Lemn Sissay, who is chance...
17th March 2022
'False news is news with the pity edited out': Simon Armitage's poem about the war in Ukraine
The poet laureate Simon Armitage has written a poem about the war in Ukraine. Titled ‘Resistance’, Armitage read it on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday 11 March. The poem includes these lines: ...
11th March 2022
One poet broadcasts from Kyiv, another makes her way from Ukraine to Scotland to appear at poetry festival
A remarkable event took place at Scotland’s StAnza international festival when one Ukrainian poet appeared on video link from Kyiv and another actually appeared in person at the festival in St Andrews...
10th March 2022
A poem for Ukraine on International Women's Day
Today is International Women’s Day – and we at Write Out Loud have decided to mark it by drawing attention to this poem posted today by one of our regular bloggers, Julie Callaghan. Julie has been pos...
8th March 2022
Bolton, where it all began ... co-founder returns to revive live night
One of the co-founders of Bolton Write Out Loud open-mic poetry night has returned to oversee its live return to Bolton Socialist Club. Dave Morgan, pictured, who launched the night almost two decades...
6th March 2022
Scottish festival event originally featuring Ukrainian poets to go ahead in show of support
A planned collaborative poetry event between four Scottish poets and four poets in Ukraine that was due to take place on Thursday 10 March as part of the StAnza international poetry festival is being ...
5th March 2022
Watching the river flow: Cornish poet traces stream's toxic past
A remarkable film including extracts of a poem about a river in Cornwall can be seen on BBC4’s iPlayer at the moment. Poet John Wedgwood Clarke explores the Red River in Cornwall, a watercourse not mu...
1st March 2022
