Poets urged to sign up for Wirral festival's Proms
Wirral Festival of Firsts is inviting poets to sign up to perform at the Poetry Proms, which have relocated this year from Hoylake to New Brighton, on Saturday 6 July. Organisers say there will be lots of performance opportunities at a number of venues, including the Fort Perch Rock, and the newly-built performance "amphitheatre" in the heart of the town. For more details, or to register as a p...
29th March 2013
Peake to perform Shelley's Peterloo poem in Manchester
The Peterloo massacre, one of the most infamous moments in the history of the English working class – and the subject of an epic-length poem by Shelley – will be featured in a performance of the poem by Maxine Peake at Manchester International Festival later this year. Shelley’s poem, The Masque ...
28th March 2013
Poetry London magazine launches £1,000 competition
Poetry London magazine has launched its 2013 poetry competition, with a deadline of 1 May, and a £1,000 first prize. The first three winners will be published in the magazine. Former Poetry London ...
28th March 2013
The Write Out Loud interview: Sean Borodale
Sean Borodale is a writer and artist. His first collection of poems, Bee Journal - a poem-journal of bee-keeping kept over two years - was shortlisted for both the 2012 Costa and TS Eliot awards. H...
27th March 2013
On Becoming A Fish: Emily Hinshelwood, Seren
In our increasingly urbanised surroundings, with the commonplaces of environmental degradation and decline, how should we write about the natural world?
This question, which of course has no si...
26th March 2013
Aesthetica offers £500 creative writing prizes
Aesthetica art and culture magazine has launched its 2013 creative writing competition, offering £500 prizes to poetry and short fiction winners, plus publication in Aesthetica’s creative writing a...
26th March 2013
Indre interviews Laura Taylor for World Poetry Day
An international journalism student at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston has interviewed Write Out Loud regular Laura Taylor as part of her wide-ranging article on the state of poetry...
26th March 2013
The good, the bad and the hyphenated
Here's a new writing exercise you might like to try. List 10 words you consider strong. Then list a "weak" one. Couple the words together to create hyphenated words, eg no-flop, tea-splish. Write a...
26th March 2013
Write Out Loud at Sale tonight
Mike Bennett, Stephanie Portersmith and Trevor Meaney are the guest poets at Write Out Loud Sale open mic at the Waterside arts centre, Sale on Tuesday 26 March. Your host is Rod Tame, entry is £3/...
26th March 2013
Write Out Loud Stockport's protest and collage anthology
Members of Write Out Loud Stockport have published A Marble Ascent, an anthology that includes poems written about their threatened venue, Stockport art gallery, and “collage” poems produced after ...
24th March 2013
Ploughing through the snow? Write Out Loud at Middleton on Sunday
Snow is forecast to lie heavy over this weekend. But the cold didn’t deter regulars at Write Out Loud Middleton last month, and there is no reason to think it will on Sunday, 24 March either. New m...
22nd March 2013
English PEN highlights plight of imprisoned poets
English PEN is paying tribute to “poets at risk” this week to mark World Poetry Day on Thursday. On Monday it highlighted the plight of Cameroon poet, writer and activist Enoh Meyomesse, pictured.
...22nd March 2013
Cheltenham poetry festival welcomes 'unsung heroes'
An inclusive poetry festival aims to provide a platform for “unsung heroes” of poetry as well as internationally-acclaimed poets next month.
Cheltenham poetry festival, which this year has expa...
22nd March 2013
Nick Drake to judge Ver Poets £600 prize
Nick Drake is the judge for Ver Poets open competition, with a £600 first prize, and a closing date of 30 April. Winning and selected poems will be published in a competition anthology. More detail...
22nd March 2013
Young poets in Human Writes slam to mark World Poetry Day
English PEN in collaboration with Kings College London today stages Human Writes, a World Poetry day slam featuring young SLAMbassador Megan Beech, pictured, alongside Femi Martin, and hosted by SL...
21st March 2013
Trick of the light could win Paragram poetry contest
A phrase from an Emily Dickinson poem “a certain slant of light”, is the theme for the Paragram poetry competition, deadline 31 August. Poems should interpret the theme without quoting it directly....
20th March 2013
Packing 'em in at Write Out Loud Marsden
Why not pop along to Marsden Write Out Loud tonight, 20 March at the Marsden Library, Peel Street at 7.30pm? Last month we had an incredible 26 people – in fact, 26 incredible people – for a packed...
20th March 2013
Words Together festival looks to its grassroots
Lemn Sissay, Ben Mellor, Dominic Berry and Monkey Poet are among the headline poetry acts at Leigh and Wigan Words Together literary festival from 1-13 April, which announced its programme earlier ...
17th March 2013
Foyle 2013 awards offer big chance to young poets
One of the biggest poetry competitions of its kind in the world is open again to young poets. Hannah Lowe and David Morley will be judging this year’s Foyle Young Poets awards, for those aged 11-17...
17th March 2013
Esther Morgan to judge £1,000 Ledbury prize
Esther Morgan will be the judge of the £1,000 Ledbury poetry competition, which also offers a week's writing course to the winner. There are categories for adults, young people, and children, and t...
17th March 2013
Write Out Loud at Bolton tonight
There’s no guest poet at Write Out Loud Bolton on Sunday 17 March, so open micers will be allowed to deliver three poems each. And don’t forget it’s St Patrick’s Day! Contact: Jeffarama! at jeffinb...
17th March 2013
Trumpeting the return of Best of Manchester Poets with volume 3
The eagerly awaited third volume of Best of Manchester Poets will be launched later this month, Puppywolf’s publisher, Keir Thomas, has said. He added: “I'm pleased to say BoMP hasn't changed. Volu...
15th March 2013
Write Out Loud Saddleworth takes a break
After a fantastic first session with some lovely diverse verse, I am sorry to announce that Dobcross will not be happening this month because the Swan pub is having alterations. They are removing t...
15th March 2013
Wendy Cope to judge £5,000 Bridport prize
Wendy Cope is this year’s judge for the £5,000 Bridport prize, one of the poetry world’s most prestigious awards. The closing date is 31 May, and the entry fee is £7 per poem. More details
15th March 2013
Words Together festival looks to its grassroots
Lemn Sissay, Ben Mellor, Dominic Berry and Monkey Poet are among the headline poetry acts at Leigh and Wigan Words Together literary festival from 1-13 April, which announced its programme earlier ...
14th March 2013
Festival's online tickets hit as farmer ploughs through cable
The perils of running a rural poetry festival were highlighted this week when organisers of Wenlock festival warned on Twitter that their online ticketing system was temporarily suspended because a...
14th March 2013
Write Out Loud at Wigan tonight
Write Out Loud Wigan, with its unique atmosphere at the Tudor House hotel, meets for another uproarious open mic at 8pm on Thursday 14 March. The event is free. More details and Map
14th March 2013
Lock gates and soundscapes on Ted Hughes shortlist
Lock gates, river soundscapes, and poems accompanying pictures of forgotten London all feature in the nominations for this year's Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. Colette Bryce, Roy Fisher,...
11th March 2013
Newspaper Taxis - Poetry After the Beatles: ed. Bowen, Furniss, Woolley
“Newspaper taxis appear on the shore / waiting to take you away” are two of the lines from John Lennon’s surreal Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, a song that he always insisted was not about LSD, on ...
11th March 2013
Write Out Loud at Stockport tonight
Write Out Stockport will be meeting on Monday 11 March at 7pm at Stockport art gallery to share their poems and contribute towards a collage poem of the event. Plans are afoot to turn these collag...
11th March 2013
Qatari poet's life sentence cut to 15 years
A Qatari poet sentenced to life in prison for inciting the overthrow of the government and insulting Qatar's rulers has had his jail term cut to 15 years, his lawyer said. Qatar’s supreme court is ...
9th March 2013
Level Up at new open mic night for teenagers in Birmingham
Teenagers in the Midlands are invited to head to South and City College in Birmingham on Thursday 28 March, for Level Up, a new open mic night of spoken word featuring top poets and local rising st...
9th March 2013
Sound and fury to mark International Women's Day
Performance poet Zena Edwards and fellow artists will be marking International Women’s Day, Friday 8 March, in London tonight by weaving spoken word with sound and movement and exploring 21st cent...
8th March 2013
StAnza festival goes ahead despite last-minute setback
The StAnza poetry festival at St Andrews went ahead this week, from 6-10 March, despite suffering a severe setback only weeks ago when its main festival hub, the Byre theatre, was forced to close. ...
7th March 2013
Rise is debut collection from Darren Thomas
North-west poet and Write Out Loud regular Darren Thomas is author of a debut collection, a sequence of poems mainly but not exclusively about gaining, enjoying and losing love. Rise is published a...
6th March 2013
Nay, lad: Tesco denies that every little bit of poetry helps
Has Tesco turned to poetry in its efforts to reassure shoppers upset by the horsemeat scandal? That is the question the London Evening Standard asked yesterday, after reporting the view of an acade...
5th March 2013
Battered Moons contest offers £300 prize
Swindon’s Battered Moons poetry competition has been launched, with a deadline of 31 May, and a first prize of £300. Main judge will be Alice Oswald, pictured, and Christina Newton will read all th...
2nd March 2013
Contest to aid children's heart charity offers £1,000 prize
A poetry contest set up by the children’s charity Cry (Cardiac Risk in the Young) is offering a £1,000 first prize, with a separate £250 prize for under-18 entrants. The judges are Moniza Alvi and ...
2nd March 2013
Somerset poetry group finds new venue after theatre closure
A group of poets in Somerset has found a new venue after the Brewhouse theatre, pictured, in Taunton was forced to close because of funding cuts. Fire River Poets say their events programme will co...
2nd March 2013
Peter and Ann Sansom to judge McLellan poetry prize
Peter and Ann Sansom will be judging this year’s McLellan poetry prize, which is awarded in memory of Robert McLellan, the poet, playwright and short story writer who spent his working life in High...
2nd March 2013
A happy St David's Day to all our readers
To mark St David’s Day, why not listen to Richard Burton reading a poem by Dylan Thomas? And if that's got you in the mood, don’t forget that the Welsh poetry competition is still open for entries....
1st March 2013
