A special 40th anniversary readings event featuring the 2017 winners Dom Bury, Mary Jean Chan and Momtaza Mehri reading alongside two poetry greats from the competition’s heritage Jo Shapcott and Pascale Petit. Plus short discussion and Q&A.
highlights
Each imagined pinnacle: new poems inspired by sculpture at the British Museum
We’re delighted to be working alongside The British Museum on a series of new commissions inspired by its exhibition Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece (running 26 April – 29 July 2018, #rodinexhibition). Keith Jarrett, Laura Scott and Richard Scott have been regular visitors to the exhibition in search of ideas, textures and histories […]
“When I ask you to listen”: Peter Kahn, Malika Booker and Nick Makoha
The Poetry Society is delighted to present a special reading celebrating legendary writers’ collective Malika’s Kitchen, featuring visiting Chicago-based poet Peter Kahn, recently commended in the 2017 National Poetry Competition. Peter is a founding member of the legendary writers’ collective Malika’s Kitchen and is the founder of the Chicago branch. For this event, Peter will […]
Readings with Miller Harris: Rachel Long & Flora de Falbe
The first in a series of poetry events curated by The Poetry Society at the new Miller Harris ‘Poet’ store in Westfield London. This reading will feature poets Rachel Long, founder of Octavia – Poetry Collective for Womxn of Colour at London’s Southbank Centre, and Flora de Falbe, twice winner of the Foyle Young Poets of […]
Poetry, Plastic and the River
Our Canal Laureate Nancy Campbell finds herself paddling through the crisp packets and cigarette ends littering the River Lea. Read her latest blog on the power poetry has to tackle plastic pollution. The Canal Laureate project is part of a wider partnership between the Canal & River Trust and Arts Council England, which aims to attract […]
Statuesque New Poems
From John Keats’ poem inspired by the Parthenon sculptures to Daljit Nagra’s 2017 collection British Museum, the sculpture collection has long been a subject of inspiration to poets. We’re delighted to be collaborating with our British Museum neighbours on a series of new commissions inspired by its exhibition Rodin and the Art of Ancient Greece (running 26 April […]
Exhibition Launch: Voices from the Row
Join us for the launch of Voices from the Row, featuring art and poetry from prisoners on death row in San Quentin in the US. In the words of one of the prisoners, “This exhibition of work shows that poetry and art has the power to not only exist in a place akin to hell, […]
Nobody: Alice Oswald and William Tillyer
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has now had to be cancelled; all tickets purchased will be refunded by the How To Academy In association with the How To Academy, The Poetry Society presents Alice Oswald, widely regarded as one of the finest living British poets in collaboration with William Tillyer, one of Britain’s […]
In Town Tonight: Hera Lindsay Bird and Joe Dunthorne
Welcome to In Town Tonight, the reading series where The Poetry Society invites a visiting poet to perform alongside a local guest writer of their choice. Hera Lindsay Bird chose Joe Dunthorne to be her cross-continental partner for tonight’s event, in what will be a dynamic meeting of poetic minds. Hera Lindsay Bird is a writer from Wellington. Her debut […]
In Town Tonight: Elaine Kahn, Meryl Pugh and Ariana Reines
The Poetry Society presents an opportunity to hear visiting LA-poet Elaine Kahn at the Poetry Café. Elaine is a writer, musician and artist, author of Women in Public (City Lights, 2015) as well as several poetry chapbooks. She is an instructor of creative writing at Poetry Field School. Elaine will read alongside Ariana Reines, American poet, […]
Sophie Herxheimer’s Poetry Big Top
In association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, as part of the V&A Performance Festival 2018 Whether you’re a daredevil horseback rider or a long-faced clown, you’ll be welcome to join sequin spangled artist-poet Sophie Herxheimer at her painted big top to make a spectacular circus of poems and pictures. Take home a flight of […]
Walking and Reverie: A Writing and Drawing Workshop
This dynamic workshop with visual artist Zoe Benbow and poet Sarah Corbett will lead you through a series of meditations, writing and drawing exercises designed to release creativity and engage the imagination in order to create new worlds in image and text. You will walk through imaginary landscapes, map a journey and work with fragments […]
Poetry Society takes on the Free Verse Fair
The Poetry Society is taking on Free Verse, home to the Poetry Book Fair and the Poetry Magazine Fair, and will run the 2018 Free Verse Fair on Saturday 22 September at Senate House, University of London. Free Verse is a market that celebrates the vitality of contemporary poetry publishing in the UK, showcasing a wide […]
You Are An Ocean Poetry Workshop
Maximise your looking at Poetry Cafe exhibition You are an ocean and I am a living thing with a writing workshop. Thom Kofoed’s exhibition explores how women have taken a radical approach to language, storytelling and poetic expression through music, visual art, comedy, writing and dance, and the workshop will celebrate female poets from all artistic disciplines. With […]
Jay Bernard wins the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry for Surge: Side A
Ted Hughes Award judges Gillian Allnutt, Lemn Sissay and Sally Beamish have chosen Jay Bernard’s 2017 performance piece Surge: Side A (Speaking Volumes), as the latest winner of The Poetry Society’s prestigious prize. The winner of the 2017 award was announced on 28 March 2018, at a reception at the Savile Club, London, where Carol Ann […]
Dom Bury wins National Poetry Competition for his poem ‘The Opened Field’
Judges Hannah Lowe, Andrew McMillan and Pascale Petit praise the winning poem’s “mnemonic force” and describe it as a “neutron star of a poem compressed inside the restraining machinery of a sestina” Out of more than 13,000 poems entered for this year’s award, Dom Bury’s poem ‘The Opened Field’ has been chosen as the winner […]
In Town Tonight: Kaveh Akbar, Rachel Long & Holly Singlehurst
In Town Tonight – The Poetry Society’s open invitation to visiting overseas poets to read at our venue in the heart of London, The Poetry Café. We are very proud to present a headline reading from Iranian-American poet and scholar Kaveh Akbar, in his very first European visit. Last year, his debut full-length collection, Calling a Wolf […]
Anecdotal Evidence: an evening with Wendy Cope
Hear Wendy Cope read poems from Anecdotal Evidence, her first collection of new poetry since 2011’s acclaimed Family Values, at this special Faber Members event, in association with The Poetry Society. In this new collection, Wendy Cope celebrates ‘the half-forgotten stories of our lives’ with compassion, wisdom and wit. She continues to be the most generous of authors, […]
The Poetry Review Winter Launch
Join us at a celebration of the Winter issue of The Poetry Review in The Poetry Café. Our readers will be contributors Ian Humphreys, Holly Pester, Mark Waldron and, in an exclusive filmed reading, Hisham Bustani introduced by Review Editor Emily Berry. About the readers Ian Humphreys won the Hamish Canham Prize 2016 and is […]
Exhibition Launch: Headbooks!
11 December 2017 to 3 February 2018 Sidekick Books presents Headbooks!, a winter exhibition of visual poems from the first two titles in the wildly experimental Headbooks series. Each book is an interactive, collaborative compendium combining the aesthetics of guidebook, catalogue and poetry anthology, melding the factual with the fantastical, the lyrical with the visual, […]
Poetry Book Society Winter Launch
The Poetry Society is delighted to join forces with the Poetry Book Society to celebrate the PBS Winter Selections. Join us to launch a special edition of the PBS Winter 2017 Bulletin with a stellar performance from five internationally acclaimed poets: PBS Choice Sasha Dugdale, PBS Recommendations Paul Deaton, Tim Dooley, Ahren Warner and PBS […]
The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree lighting up ceremony
Thursday 7 December 2017, 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm It’s that time of year again! In one of London’s favourite traditions, The Poetry Society and the Royal Norwegian Embassy are once more encircling the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree in poetry, to celebrate the City of Oslo’s annual gift to London with generous support from The Northbank and Fox Rodney. (Find out more about the […]
I am not what I asked for: Jorie Graham at Keats House with Sarah Howe
The Poetry Society is delighted to host a special event in collaboration with Carcanet Press with Pulitzer-Prize winning American poet Jorie Graham. Jorie will read from her work (including her latest collection Fast), discuss her work in conversation with T.S.Eliot prize-winning poet Sarah Howe, and sign books afterwards. Jorie Graham Jorie Graham was born in […]
80,000 Gallons to a Lock: a Canal Laureate reading with Luke Kennard
(picture: Billie Charity-Prescott for Canal & River Trust) Luke Kennard’s Canal Laureate poems are full of bargeman’s songs, industrial history, towpath gadflies and watery dazzle. His time as Laureate is nearly done, so now’s the time to join him with a celebratory journey’s end reading. ‘In the roar of 80,000 gallons to a lock / […]
John Hegley: New Poems / Old Drawings
Testing the lights and trying the mic in the newly refurbished Poetry Café comes John Hegley with a projected exhibition of dogs, birds and tortoises, and poetic words on Wordsworth, Keats and Mary Magdalene’s handbag. Mainly in English, but some singing in French and paper-folding. Tickets to this special event include a signed copy of […]
Look We Made a Book: A Workshoppy Masterclass with John Hegley
no staples in the rhymes we took and sung upon a tenter-hook we played and paid and made a book. There was tearing wearing sharing, folding then everyone holding a book. Drawing, and drawing out the creative, with poet John Hegley. An opportunity to make and encounter poetry of the highest quality. Create a small book […]
The Poetry Society Showcase
Tuesday 17th October 2:00pm at the Royal Festival Hall, London Join The Poetry Society to celebrate 19 years of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award with a starry clutch of poets who share their work and, in keeping with London Literature Festival’s theme of ‘World on the Brink’, offer advice to young poets […]
My Eyes Like Rays: National Poetry Competition Filmpoem screening & poetry reading
Adaptation, interpretation or illustration – how to convert a poetic image to a filmic one? Filmmakers translating the latest National Poetry Competition-winning poems into visual form answer the question with a swirling charcoal animation, a tableau of Lego men and a choreography of dancers and fallen leaves. Filmpoem makers James William Norton, Helmie Stil and […]
Poetry @ 3
Poetry @ 3 is USUALLY first Thursday of each month – apart from October (2nd Thursday) – an open mic for poets who like to come out and play during the day. Hosted by the Poetry Society’s Paul McGrane. No booking required, just turn up. Sign up between 2.30 and 3 to read. FREE. […]
One to One Poetry Surgery with Jen Hadfield
T.S. Eliot Prize winning poet Jen Hadfield is on a flying visit to London, and we’re very pleased that she’s able to spend a morning in Thursday 12th October at The Poetry Society offering some one-to-one Poetry Surgery sessions. This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss your work with Jen, who will offer a relaxed but […]
National Poetry Day: read your Freedom poems
Hosted by the Poetry Society’s own Paul McGrane, a daytime session for anyone who wants to give a poem an airing. Bring your poems on the National Poetry Day theme of Freedom – or just bring your lovely poems! No booking required, just sign up between 2.30 and 3pm to read. FREE. Make a day […]
Poem-A-Thon fundraiser for the Poetry Café
61 poets in an all-day non-stop poetry reading to raise funds for the Poetry Café. Each poet will read for eight minutes, entry is by donation, and you can come and go as you please. There’ll also be a tombola – your chance to win a fabulous prize! Sponsor a Poet Our poets are donating their […]
In Town Tonight: Alex Dimitrov, Katy Evans-Bush, Richard Scott, Hannah Sullivan & Ralf Webb
Join us for the latest ‘In Town Tonight’, presented by The Poetry Society at The Poetry Café Our all-star line-up includes… from the US, Alex Dimitrov, whose new collection Together and by Ourselves is just published by Copper Canyon; fellow American Katy Evans-Bush, whose pamphlet Broken Cities is newly published by Smith/Doorstop; and from the […]
The Poetry Review summer launch
Join us to celebrate the launch of Emily Berry’s second issue as Editor, in the newly-refurbished Poetry Café space. With readings from contributors Vahni Capildeo, Kit Fan, Allis Hamilton and Wayne Holloway-Smith. Tickets Tickets are free, but space is extremely limited. Email Oliver Fox at [email protected] to RSVP. Space is allocated on a first come, first […]
National Poetry Competition Winners at Ledbury Poetry Festival
Join us for a reading at Ledbury Poetry Festival with the top three prize winners of the National Poetry Competition. First prize winner Stephen Sexton lives in Belfast where he is studying at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry. His pamphlet, Oils was published by The Emma Press. Second prize winner Caleb Parkin is a […]
The Lady of Shalott: Tennyson’s Camelot at Bradford Literature Festival
“She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott” Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott is an iconic poem of the Victorian era. It has inspired a vast cultural output, from Pre-Raphaelite art to Scandinavian pop music. However, it is by no means the only poem inspired by the Arthurian legend and […]
21 Years of Ledbury Poetry Festival Showcase – feat. Foyle Young Poets
Hosted by Brenda Read-Brown, this event showcases poets at all stages of their development: John Masefield High School Students have worked with the school’s poet in residence Brenda Read-Brown to create their poems. The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for poets aged 11 – 17 is one of the largest and most prestigious […]
Capriccio of the Lagoon with Jamie McKendrick
Join us for the latest in our series of events in partnership with the Royal Collection Trust and performed by a contemporary poet who has been commissioned to write a new poem in response to one or more exhibitions at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Spend an evening with award-winning poet Jamie McKendrick as he performs […]
SLAMbassadors showcase with Joelle Taylor – SLAMbassadors @ WORD
To celebrate the culmination of our spoken word youth workshops in Islington, we will present a talent-packed evening of new work by SLAMbassadors hosted by the irrepressible SLAM legend – Joelle Taylor – who will also perform a headline set. This is a free event! But please book tickets via the Free Word website.
Poetry Café re-open for events from 12 June!
We’re working hard to be able to open during the day again, offering our brand new space to visitors who want a quiet tea or coffee or lunch in the heart of Covent Garden. But in the meantime, we’ll be open for a range of evening events as we get everything else ready. Check the calendar to find […]