Dean's 30-hour poetry marathon to raise money for cathedral
The dean of Worcester, the Very Revd Peter Atkinson, is attempting to read 25,000 lines of poetry over 30 hours to raise money for the city’s cathedral. Atkinson, who previously read 20,000 lines over 24 hours in 2010, will begin his latest poetry marathon at 9am on Thursday 29 August and end at 3pm on Friday 30 August. He plans to read the whole of Dante’s Divine Comedy, as well as requests fr...
28th August 2013
Deadline nears for £10,000 Manchester poetry prize
The 30 August deadline is fast approaching for the £10,000 Manchester poetry prize, to be judged by Fiona Sampson, Bernard O'Donoghue, and Adam Riordan. Entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of three to five poems, which can be on any subject, and written in any style, but must be new work, no...
28th August 2013
August 31 deadline for Ryedale book festival competition
The deadline is 31 August for entries to Ryedale book festival’s poetry competition, which is open to writers resident in Yorkshire, Humber and Teesside. The judge will Andy Humphrey, compere of Y...
28th August 2013
Plus ça change… Can you write a trolley poem?
This prose piece was read at a recent Write Out Loud evening, where poetry is the norm but short prose not unheard of. The piece received such a great reception, we thought it worth sharing it more...
28th August 2013
Southbank poets pay tribute at 'I Have a Dream' anniversary
Poets Charlie Dark, Deborah Stevenson, Dizraeli, Hollie McNish, Jacob Sam La-Rose, Malika Booker, Salena Godden, Vanessa Kisuule, and Zena Edwards will be joining with members of America’s legenda...
28th August 2013
Sophia Walker wins BBC Poetry Slam Final
The tent was filled to bursting on Saturday (17 August) for the final of the BBC’s annual poetry slam, which runs over a week at the Edinburgh Fringe. Competitors Rachel Amey, Sophia Walker, Rache...
25th August 2013
Luke Wright's Essex Lion prowls the sad-eyed lowlands
The cheery, beer-swilllng, rightwing politician Nigel Farage is attracting a lot of attention at the Edinburgh Fringe. Earlier on Wednesday comedian Matt Forde made a case for giving Farage his due...
25th August 2013
Phill Jupitus the poet? Worth a listen. But don't give up the day job, Phill
Did you know that Phill Jupitus – yes, the Phill Jupitus from Never Mind the Buzzcocks - is a performance poet? He’s also friends with Kate Tempest, and thinks her award-winning show Brand New Anci...
25th August 2013
Kathleen Jamie maps out new landscape at book festival
Enormous, arrogant, brash, entreating, wheeler-dealing, the Fringe is nevertheless not the only show in town by any means. Up in Charlotte Gardens, just off Princes Street, is the more sedate, Guar...
25th August 2013
Dim the lights, bedeck in red: female poets illuminate the Labyrinth
As Fringe venues go The Banshee Labyrinth has got to be one of the strangest in the whole of Edinburgh. It’s not so much the dinginess, the walls covered in posters or the vague smell of wet brick...
25th August 2013
After midnight: when the Tongue Fu band start playing
I last visited the Edinburgh Fringe 10 years ago, and in a sense, nothing has changed. We’ve still found ourselves in a flat in a nondescript tenement, up more than 60 stairs, owing to a booking ma...
25th August 2013
Scottish political slam – war without bloodshed?
Poetry slams are often seen as the antithesis of many folks’ perception of poetry, given their (usually) fiercely competitive nature. So what will a Festival of Politics slam be like, especially on...
25th August 2013
Upon the beach, inside the arts centres: Armitage unveils his walk itinerary
Simon Armitage will be reading his poems in village halls, libraries, arts centres, a museum, a converted chapel, two farms, and will be seen on beaches during his Walking Away tour of the west cou...
17th August 2013
Wendy Klein to judge £400 Havant competition
Wendy Klein will be judging the £400 Havant poetry competition, which has the theme of “renewal”. The deadline is 30 August. More details
17th August 2013
Deadline nears for Paragram 'slant of light' competition
The deadline is 31 August for the Paragram poetry competition, with the theme a phrase from an Emily Dickinson poem, “a certain slant of light”. Poems should interpret the theme without quoting it ...
17th August 2013
The cruellest month? Warning and plea on cancelled gigs
August is the cruellest month, to misquote The Waste Land. Our Gig Guide editor has recently contacted all the owners of gigs listed with us over the next month. From replies we've had, it's clear ...
16th August 2013
Superheroes slam, and the Wigan winner is…
…Dave Viney, Manchester poet – well, Stretford – with a consummate pair of performances that had the judges in agreement and the capacity audience on the edges of their seats – those that had 'em.
...16th August 2013
Gaia Holmes launches new collection at Hebden Bridge
Gaia Holmes will be launching her new collection, Lifting the Piano with one Hand, at the Book Case, Hebden Bridge, on Thursday 22 August at 7pm. Her work was included in the recent anthology of Yo...
16th August 2013
Rachel McCrum edges it in BBC slam heat at Edinburgh
Rachel McCrum pipped Scotland’s makar, Liz Lochhead, by half a point to win the second heat of the BBC poetry slam in Edinburgh on Tuesday night, and a place in Saturday’s final. McCrum won with...
15th August 2013
Rhyme and reason: why Cat Brogan has trouble remembering her lines
FORMER Edinburgh slam champion Cat Brogan was apologising on Monday for having to read some of her poems at Other Voices: Spoken Word Cabaret at the Banshee Labyrinth. “I’m doing an MA at Goldsmit...
15th August 2013
Poet's daughter takes over as editor of literary magazine Ambit
The daughter of Adrian Mitchell, Briony Bax, is to take over as editor of the eclectic, anti-establishment, arts magazine Ambit. She succeeds Dr Martin Bax, who has been editor of the magazine for ...
12th August 2013
Guardian readers nominate debut poetry collection for award
A debut collection of poetry nominated by readers has won a place on the Guardian first book award longlist. The Shipwrecked House, by Claire Trévien, picture...
12th August 2013
Poet and biographer Nicholas Murray gives Liverpool reading
Poet and literary biographer Nicholas Murray will be reading from his latest collection of poems, Of Earth, Water, Air and Fire, at Blackwell University bookshop in Liverpool on Friday 16 August at...
12th August 2013
Anna Percy in BBC poetry slam line-up at Edinburgh
Anna Percy, who launched her first collection, Livid Among The Ghostings last month, is among the line-up of 24 performance poets competing for the BBC Poetry Slam title this year at Edinburgh, at ...
11th August 2013
David Morley to judge £600 Buzzwords competition
David Morley will be judging the £600 Buzzwords poetry competition, which has a deadline of 17 August. Buzzwords is a Cheltenham-based poetry reading, workshop and open mic group. More details
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3rd August 2013
No Carol Ann Duffy? Write a poem for the little prince
It seems Carol Ann Duffy is on laureate leave, leaving a literary lacuna. Can you fill it? The Guardian is urging folks to write a poem for the royal sprog. How about you having a go?
Antoine d...
3rd August 2013
Poet Todd Swift hits back after soaking
A poet, publisher and academic has blogged a poem about an incident, reportedly involving members of the band The Wanted, in which he says he had liquid thrown over him from a hotel balcony.
To...
1st August 2013
Write Out Loud's Gig Guide notches up 10,000 events
Write Out Loud’s celebrated Gig Guide, beloved of event organisers and poetry lovers looking for a good night out, has recently notched up its 10,000th individual listed event. Write Out Loud’s fou...
1st August 2013
Southbank stages hip-hop party to celebrate skateboard culture
Award-winning playwright, poet and performer Inua Ellams is curating R.A.P Party, an evening of hip-hop-inspired poems and favourite hip-hop songs with an all-star bill at the Purcell Room of Londo...
1st August 2013
Anna Percy in BBC poetry slam line-up at Edinburgh
Anna Percy, who launched her first collection, Livid Among The Ghostings last month, is among the line-up of 24 performance poets competing for the BBC Poetry Slam title this year at Edinburgh, at ...
1st August 2013
