African poet Kofi Awoonor among Kenya massacre victims
The renowned African poet, Kofi Awoonor, was one of the victims of the terrorist killings in Nairobi that have claimed at least 62 lives, it has emerged. Awoonor, aged 78, a Ghanaian poet, diplomat and academic, had been in Nairobi for the Storymoja Hay festival. Kwame Dawes, Ghanaian-born Jamaican poet and writer, said in an article in the Wall Street Journal: “I had asked him to attend the ...
30th September 2013
Countdown to Forward prizes glitz and National Poetry Day
The countdown has started in earnest for the Forward Prize giving and National Poetry Day, which take place on 1 and 3 October. This year for the first time the Forward prizes will be awarded to poets at a public event in the Purcell Room at London’s Southbank, with added razzamatazz as some of ...
29th September 2013
Alice Oswald wins £25,000 Warwick prize for Memorial
Alice Oswald has become the first poet to win the £25,000 Warwick prize for writing. Her winning work, Memorial, is a reworking of Homer's Iliad.
The Warwick prize, awarded every two years, is ...
28th September 2013
Poet accused of plagiarism pulls out of Forward shortlist
A Forward prize contender who has been accused of plagiarism has withdrawn his poem from the Forward shortlist, the organisers have said. CJ Allen has pulled his poem 'Explaining the plot of Blade...
27th September 2013
Poets limber up for 47-mile Stanza Stones trek
Four poets have been getting in training for a trek next month, when they will walk from Marsden to Ilkley along the route of the six Stanza Stones, carved into stone, and written by Simon Armitage...
22nd September 2013
Write Out Loud at Middleton tonight
Dave Morgan is the guest poet at Write Out Loud Middleton on Sunday 22 September, at the Ring O’Bells, St Leonard’s Square, Middleton. Entry is a £2 donation to this open mic event. Contact: gemmat...
22nd September 2013
Simon Armitage's walk: 'He had vaguely imagined a stroll along the beach'
Simon Armitage is walking the South-West Coast Path, from Minehead to Land’s End, stopping off every evening to read a few of his poems and talk with his audience. He says he wants to test out his ...
18th September 2013
Remembering Seamus Heaney at Write Out Loud Marsden tonight
Members of Write Out Loud Marsden will be celebrating the life of Seamus Heaney as part of their readaround when they meet up on Wednesday 18 September at Marsden library at the Mechanics Hall, Pee...
18th September 2013
Forward prize contender in new plagiarism row
A Forward prize contender has been accused of plagiarism by a fellow poet. In the third case of its kind to erupt this year, Matthew Welton says that CJ Allen plagiarised a number of Welton’s poem...
18th September 2013
Write Out Loud at Sale tonight
Host Rod Tame is celebrating his third anniversary as host of Write Out Loud Sale on Tuesday 17 September at the Waterside arts centre. Guest poets are Jan Dean and Joy France at the open mic night...
17th September 2013
Char March first guest at Shindig launch in Hebden Bridge
Char March will be the first guest poet at the launch of Shindig, a new monthly spoken word night in Hebden Bridge compered by Winston Plowes, on Tuesday 17 September. It’s at Nelsons wine bar, in ...
17th September 2013
Coming your way? Top poets on TS Eliot Prize anniversary tour
The renowned TS Eliot Prize, organised by the Poetry Book Society, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 10-venue national tour of readings this autumn. The tour, involving leading poets who h...
15th September 2013
Tony Walsh at Write Out Loud Bolton tonight
Tony Walsh (Longfella) will be the star guest at Write Out Loud Bolton on Sunday 15 September at the Brooklyn, Green Lane, Bolton. Tony, a veteran of Glastonbury and one of the country’s leading pe...
15th September 2013
Dylan Thomas park has £1.4m makeover in time for centenary
A Swansea park that inspired Dylan Thomas to write such poems as ‘The Hunchback in the Park’ has been refurbished at a cost of £1.4m in time for the 2014 centenary of the poet’s birth.
The Dyl...
12th September 2013
Night at the Oscars at Write Out Loud Wigan tonight
12th September 2013
The ups and downs of publishing at the poetry book fair
London’s Poetry Book Fair, now in its third year, goes from strength to strength. More publishers displaying their wares each year, a new venue, Conway Hall, a spill-over evening session of poetry...
9th September 2013
Don't shoot the performance poet: Bang Said The Gun launches anthology
Bang Said The Gun, the weekly performance poetry phenomenon billed as being “for people who don’t like poetry”, and where the audience is encouraged to make as much noise as is physically possible,...
9th September 2013
Write Out Loud at Stockport tonight
Members of Stockport Write Out Loud meet on Monday 7 September at Stockport art gallery, with this month’s theme the Sun. The group creates a collage poem at each meeting. You can read August’s col...
9th September 2013
'The felling of a great oak': Seamus Heaney 1939-2013
The funeral of the Nobel-prize winning Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, who died in Dublin aged 74 last Friday, was held at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Donnybrook in the Irish Republic on Monday. A...
8th September 2013
Publishers and poets set out their stalls at day-long bazaar
A feast of poetry is promised at Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair, a free, all-day bazaar that includes readings, workshops, and more than 50 poetry publishers setting out their wares. It takes pla...
6th September 2013
Seamus Heaney special at Puzzle Poets, Sowerby Bridge, Monday
To mark the passing of one of the world’s great poets of the past 50+ years, Puzzle Poets of Sowerby Bridge are holding a special evening to allow everyone to read their favourite Seamus Heaney poe...
2nd September 2013
