From the Boathouse to Brown's Hotel: on the trail of Dylan Thomas at Laugharne
“Eighteen straight whiskies!” The passer-by’s bemused comment to her companion on their way out of a museum that celebrates a poet was accompanied by the haunting cry of a curlew close to the Boathouse at Laugharne, once occupied by Dylan Thomas and his wife and children. Dylan lived at the Boathouse, overlooking the stunningly-beautiful Taf estuary, for his last four years before his death at the...
31st August 2015
Andrew McMillan on Guardian first book award longlist
Andrew McMillan’s first full collection of poetry, Physical, has made the Guardian first book award longlist. Physical, published by Jonathan Cape, is also on the shortlist for the Forward best first collection award.
On the Guardian website the collection is described thus: “Rarely can a poet ha...
31st August 2015
Jo Bell steps down as canal laureate with farewell at Little Venice
After three years as inaugural canal laureate, Jo Bell is giving up the role – and will be saying goodbye with a special event at the Canal Cafe theatre, at Little Venice in London, on Wednesday 2 Sep...
31st August 2015
Poetry School and publisher combine to guide three poets into print
The deadline is 1 September to submit to Primers, a new annual scheme run by the Poetry School and Nine Arches Press that aims to help talented poets to find publication and receive a programme of sup...
30th August 2015
Delivering the sounds of Stroud with poetry and music on Spoken Word Sunday at fringe festival
Looking for live literature this summer and can’t make it to the Edinburgh Fringe? Are you based in or near the south-west of England? Poet and performer Adam Horovitz will be presenting a Spoken Word...
30th August 2015
Deadline nears for £1,000 Oxford Brookes poetry competition
Bernard O’Donoghue and Hannah Lowe will be judging the £1,000 Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre poetry competition, which has a separate category for those with English as a second language. The closing da...
28th August 2015
Heading for Edinburgh? Here are some spoken word shows to look out for
Here’s just a taster of some of the spoken word shows at the PBH Free Fringe that have caught our eye. Jess Green’s YouTube poem, ‘Dear Mr Gove’, went viral last year and has had over 300,000 views. ...
22nd August 2015
The joy of slam: sign up to be a superhero in Commonword contest
Roll up, roll up! Poets are being invited to sign up for Manchester-based Commonword’s Superheroes of Slam contest, with heats in Wigan, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Leicester, and Sheffield, before a gra...
16th August 2015
New comperes at Write Out Middleton as Norman bows out
It’s farewell to Norman Warwick, and hello to Shirley-Anne Kennedy and Eileen Earnshaw, as the current host of Write Out Loud Middleton steps down. Norman is swapping the Rochdale area for Lanzarote, ...
16th August 2015
Poetry while you wait: students post poems at Dewsbury and Huddersfield stations
Poems written by adult learners on a creative writing course at Kirklees College have been displayed at Dewsbury rail station. The college joined forces with rail operator First Transpennine Express t...
16th August 2015
Write Out Loud Bolton at the Brooklyn tonight
Jeffarama! and Gordon Zola are your hosts at Write Out Loud Bolton on Sunday 16 August at the Brooklyn pub, Green Lane, Bolton. Entry is £1 to this open mic event, which begins at 7.30pm. More details...
16th August 2015
Kate Tempest and George the Poet at Edinburgh Book Festival
Kate Tempest and George the Poet will be appearing at Edinburgh Book Festival in August. The festival, which runs from August 15-31, will feature Tempest in conversation with her editor, Don Paterson...
15th August 2015
Write Out Loud Wigan at the Old Courts tonight
Louise Coulson will be the compere at Write Out Loud Wigan at the Old Courts, Crawford Street, Wigan, on Thursday 13 August. Entry is free to this open mic night, which starts at 8.30pm, and offers a ...
13th August 2015
Deadline nears for £1,000 Flambard prize
Cynthia Fuller and Jacob Polley will be judging the £1,000 Flambard poetry prize, awarded annually to the best group of five poems submitted by a poet who has not yet published a single-authored pamph...
13th August 2015
Deadline nears for £700 Torbay poetry festival competition
John Greening will be judging this year’s £700 Torbay poetry festival competition. The deadline is 28 August. The first prize winner also receives a free weekend at the poetry festival, (22 -26th Octo...
11th August 2015
Poetry book fair seeks £200 poem to 'inspire visitors'
Organisers of Free Verse, the poetry book fair that will be held in London on Saturday 26 September this year, are looking for a short poem (maximum 10 lines) on the subject of “books” to “welcome and...
11th August 2015
Write Out Loud at Stockport art gallery tonight
Members of Write Out Loud Stockport will be meeting at Stockport art gallery on Monday 10 August at 7pm. Entry is a £1 donation at this open-floor poetry night, where each month a collage poem is prod...
10th August 2015
Deadline nears for £600 Buzzwords poetry competition
Alison Brackenbury will be judging the £600 Buzzwords poetry competition. The deadline is 23 August. More details
10th August 2015
