Members' AreaThe 23rd Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, one of the largest and most prestigious awards for young poets aged 11-17 writing original works in English, opens today for entries from young writers aged 11-17. Run by The Poetry Society, with the generous support of the Foyle Foundation, the competition invites entries from both […]
News
Launch of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021
The 23rd Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, one of the largest and most prestigious awards for young poets aged 11-17 writing original works in English, opens today for entries from young writers aged 11-17. Run by The Poetry Society, with the generous support of the Foyle Foundation, the competition invites entries from both […]
Rachel Long and Luke Kennard in new Poetry Review podcasts
The Poetry Society has released two new podcasts featuring The Poetry Review‘s editor Emily Berry in discussion with two recent contributors to the journal: Rachel Long and Luke Kennard. In the first podcast, Rachel Long – whose debut My Darling from the Lions (Picador) has been shortlisted for the Forward, Costa and Rathbones Folio prizes […]
3 new poems for Keats200
Today – 23 February 2021 – marks the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ death. To commemorate the life and legacy of the young Romantic, The Poetry Society and Keats House, Hampstead, commissioned three poets to write new poems inspired by his work. Ruth Padel wrote ‘Night Singing in a Time of Plague’ in response to […]
A love letter to Brent
As part of the London Borough of Culture 2020 celebrations, The Poetry Society ran a series of workshops in Brent schools during the Autumn term 2020, leading up to the creation of a borough-wide ‘Love Letter to Brent’ film. The final film can be watched below. It explores the borough of Brent through the words […]
A new shelfie for LGBT+ History Month
To mark LGBT+ History Month this February, The Poetry Society has created a new shelfie, recommending a handful of LGBT+ poets who have made history. Find the shelfie here. For a more in-depth exploration of LGBT+ poets and how to bring them into the classroom, discover our brilliant new free resource by Nazmia Jamal in […]
New collaborative works by young people
In November, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network launched a call for young creatives worldwide to collaborate with each other. In the face of lockdowns and social distancing in many countries across the world, the challenge aimed to give young people another way to connect. This challenge was like no other on Young Poets Network, […]
Bhanu Kapil wins T.S. Eliot Prize at digital awards ceremony
The Poetry Society congratulates Bhanu Kapil, the winner of the T.S. Eliot Poetry Prize for How to Wash a Heart (Pavilion Poetry/Liverpool University Press, 2020). Bhanu Kapil was unveiled as the winner at a digital awards ceremony for the Awards presented by Southbank Centre on 24 January, hosted by Ian McMillan. Chair Lavinia Greenlaw, who […]
Amanda Gorman and other young poets on the rise
Inspired by the warm rhetoric and assured stage presence of US Presidential Inauguration poet, 22-year old Amanda Gorman, Jade Cuttle writing in The Times has drawn up a new reading list of talented poets aged 22 or under, many of whom have emerged through The Poetry Society’s talent development schemes. Jade Cuttle herself is a […]
Naomi on Hawa in new ‘In Front of the Poem’ piece
Kaleem Hawa‘s poem, ‘Learned Helplessness’, first published in the The Poetry Review last year, is the subject of Katrina Naomi‘s online critique for The Poetry Society’s ‘In Front of the Poem’ series. It’s a poem that works at speed, Katrina Naomi writes: “I find myself considering how much the box of the prose poem contains […]
New Year Members success round up
Join The Poetry Society in applauding some of the latest competition successes of Poetry Society Members including: Jane Simmons‘s poem ‘Nativity’ won the Seren Christmas poetry competition 2020. Sue Finch won second prize in the Cheltenham Poetry Festival Competition Theresa Sowerby has won first prize in the Cannon Poets Sonnet or Not competition Damen O’Brien […]
Youngest poet makes history at American presidential inauguration
Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet to participate in an American presidential inauguration, when she performed her new poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’ for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington on 20 January. “Where can we find light in / This never-ending shade?” Gorman’s poem asks, going on to speak of a country […]
Young poets speak up at second Versopolis Festival of Hope
The second Versopolis Festival of Hope is launching on 21 January 2021 at 6pm GMT which will be broadcast daily via their website and social media channels, and The Poetry Society is delighted to be involved again in this year’s festival, this time presenting a Young Poets Takeover event. The new festival follows […]
A baker’s dozen of poetry hits: Elaine Feeney’s poetry mixtape
The Poetry Mixtape compiled by the poet and novelist Elaine Feeney, who interviews Margaret Atwood in the newly published winter issue of The Poetry Review, presents a blazing mix of voices and concerns. Alongside much-loved classics by Frank O’Hara, Don Paterson and Derek Mahon, Feeney has selected fierce and unforgettable testimonies from Rita Ann Higgins, […]
‘Glowing to receive a thousand guests’: launch of The Poetry Society’s Keats200 programme
On 20 January, The Poetry Society hosts a Zoom read-along of John Keats’ poem ‘The Eve of St Agnes’. Madeline and Porphyro, the star-crossed lovers of the poem’s tale, meet their fate during a wild party at a remote castle. As the story begins, the castle chambers are lit up – ‘glowing to receive a […]
Who’s that bird?
“I knew he was – would become – a poem as soon as I set eyes on him. That unmistakeable aura, the bristling forcefield of the imaginary, the dazzle of semiotic refractions that imbue the verifiable with the mythological.” In his new ‘Behind the Poem’ online article, Graham Mort offers views inside and out of […]
New winter issues of The Poetry Review and Poetry News
“Right, first take some weight off yourself. There’s too much pressure from the outside world… During writing your responsibility is to what you’re writing, outside world be gone,” advises Margaret Atwood, interviewed by Elaine Feeney in the Winter 2020 issue of The Poetry Review. In fact, the world is very much in evidence in the […]
David Constantine awarded Queen’s Gold Medal
David Constantine, poet, translator and novelist, has been awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2020. Since 1933, the Medal has been awarded annually for excellence in poetry, to a poet from the UK or a Commonwealth Realm. Constantine was chosen by a committee chaired by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who said: “Above all, David […]
People Need Nature: young people’s winning poems published
Our lives, whether in the city or the country, are inextricably linked to nature. This is the nature poetry that I am interested in. One that does not disregard the human element or involvement. I want poems that are able to appreciate nature in different, interesting ways. Tell me about the park that sits alongside […]
Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Christmas Pine’ – an animated introduction
Every year The Poetry Society commissions a poem, welcoming Norway’s gift of a Christmas tree to London’s Trafalgar Square as part of its Look North More Often project. This year’s poem, ‘The Christmas Pine’, is by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and a former children’s laureate. The poem is always unveiled as part of […]
Look North More Often 2020 – the new Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree poem
The Poetry Society has commissioned a wonderful new poem,‘The Christmas Pine’, by the former children’s laureate and author of The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, as part of the long-running Look North More Often programme. The poem will be unveiled as part of the lighting-up ceremony of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree. The poem is also printed […]
Young poets invited to take part in Wellcome Trust funded project
The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network has teamed up with Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts to challenge young writers everywhere to respond to the language of the Human Cell Atlas through poetry. Inspired by a poem by Vona Groarke, writers aged 25 and younger worldwide are asked to pen new poems whose sounds evolve […]
Islamophobia Awareness Month 2020
November is Islamophobia Awareness Month, and – through poetry – we are pleased to support MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) in their movement for change towards a less divisive and more inclusive society. A look through our publication and project archives reveals a wealth of great work by and inspired by Muslim writers to inspire […]
New memorial to the “mother of feminism”
A new memorial sculpture to Mary Wollstonecraft, writer, Englightenment philospher and human rights advocate has been unveiled today in Newington Green, London, near where she lived and worked. The sculpture has been made by artist Maggi Hambling. Wollstonecraft was the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), the first book in English […]
Poetry-on-sea: Poetry in Aldeburgh 2020
The Poetry Society is pleased to once again be supporting the recently announced Poetry in Aldeburgh Festival programme. As part of a rich and varied line-up, The Poetry Society will host a digital reading event ‘Nature and Nurture’ on Sunday 15 November at 5pm GMT featuring poets Joe Dunthorne, Charlotte Knight, Elaine Beckett and Ian […]
A new foundation for black poets
The Poetry Society is delighted to support a new foundation for black poets, the Obsidian Foundation, launched by award-winning poet Nick Makoha. The Obsidian Foundation will provide a one-week retreat for black poets of African descent, who often face multiple barriers of access to literary resources and professional development. The retreat will be led by […]
Lydia Harris wins Paper Swans pamphlet prize
It’s 1,2,3 for Poetry Society Members in this year’s Paper Swans Press Poetry Pamphlet Prize, judged by Carrie Etter. First prize: Lydia Harris, A Small Space Second prize: Mark Russell, Wild & Irregular Third prize: David Hale, Beating the Bounds Carrie: Narrowing from the longlist of 13 to a final three places was every bit […]
Lewis Buxton wins Winchester Poetry Prize
Congratulations to Poetry Society Member Lewis Buxton, winner of the 2020 Winchester Poetry Competition for his poem ‘Field Dressing a Rabbit’, judged by Andrew McMillan. Second and third prizes went to fellow Poetry Society Members Claire Collison for ‘Little Deaths’ and Luke Palmer for ‘Desire | Youth’. Highly Commended Poetry Society Members were Lewis Buxton (again) […]
Jenny Mitchell wins Aryamati Poetry Prize
Many congratulations to Poetry Society Member Jenny Mitchell, winner of The Aryamati Poetry Prize, judged by Kayla Jenkins and Amber Rollinson. The joint runners-up are fellow Poetry Society Members Joanna Lilley and Julian Bishop. 1st Place: Jenny Mitchell with poem: Imagining a Forest Made of Freedom “Our undisputed favourite this year, for its skilful and […]
National Poetry Competition 2020: Then & Now
To mark the final week of the National Poetry Competition 2020 being open for entries, The Poetry Society is releasing a series of five video readings each weekday at 1pm GMT as part of a series called ‘Then & Now’. In each short video, a poet who has previously been placed in the competition reads […]
Joanne Key wins Buzzwords Poetry Competition
Penelope Shuttle has chosen ‘Strange Nature’ by Poetry Society Member Joanne Key from over 1,000 entries to be the winner of this year’s Buzzwords Poetry Competition. Fellow Poetry Society Member Penny Boxall is one of the joint runners-up with ‘Monument Valley’. Among the Commended poets are Society Members Ama Bolton and Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana and David […]
Pascale Petit wins Laurel Prize
Congratulations to Poetry Society Member Pascale Petit, chosen as the winner of the inaugural ecopoetry prize, The Laurel Prize, organised by the UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and the Poetry School. Pascale wins £5000 for Mama Amazonica (Bloodaxe). Winner of the £500 Best First Collection award went to fellow Poetry Society Member Matt Howard for […]
Joe Neal wins Write by the Sea International Poetry Competition
Congratulations to Poetry Society Member Joe Neal, winner of the the Write by the Sea International Poetry Competition, announced by Colm Tóibín. Joe won with his poem ‘The Savage Sea’. Fellow Society Member Nathaniel Frankland was third with ‘Fitted Bedsheet Beahes’. We carve to heel and catch the wind while green-flash light parts curtain mist […]
Tackling food poverty: resources for teachers
With Marcus Rashford keeping food poverty in the headlines, we know teachers will be thinking about food insecurity. There’s nothing more direct than supporting a food poverty charity, but there are ways poetry can bear witness to the situation across the UK, and things poets can do to help. Recently, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets […]
Black History Month 2020
October is Black History Month, and to mark the occasion The Poetry Society has identified a selection of its latest content that celebrates Black culture, from its programme of educational activities, commissions and its journal The Poetry Review. For young readers, The Poetry Society has gathered together a series of favourite poetry books for young […]
“When in doubt, cut it out” – A National Poetry Competition interview with Neil Astley
Following on from our Q&As with Karen McCarthy Woolf, our next National Poetry Competition Q&A comes from Neil Astley, poet and editor of Bloodaxe Books. What advice would you give to entrants looking at a blank page? You shouldn’t be looking at a blank page if you’ve haven’t already got a line in your head […]
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award Results
The Poetry Society has announced today the top 15 winners and 85 commended poets of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2020 at a virtual prize-giving ceremony. Find the winning poems here. Run by The Poetry Society and generously supported by the Foyle Foundation, this has been an extraordinary 22nd year for The […]
Congratulations to all on the T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist
Huge congratulations to all on the 2020 T.S. Eliot Prize shortlist, judged by Lavinia Greenlaw (Chair), Mona Arshi and Andrew McMillan. The shortlisted poets are: Natalie Diaz – Postcolonial Love Poem (Faber) Sasha Dugdale – Deformations (Carcanet) Ella Frears – Shine Darling (Offord Road Books) Will Harris – RENDANG (Granta) Wayne Holloway-Smith – Love Minus […]
Poems grow on trees: Foyle Young Poets 2020
To celebrate the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2020 in readiness for this year’s awards cermony, The Poetry Society has commissioned artist Imogen Foxell to create an illustration that brings together motifs for all one hundred winning poems from this year’s competition, from banana to boot, peacock to pack of cards. […]
Louise Glück wins Nobel Prize
Congratulations to the celebrated US poet Louise Glück, who has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature, the fourth woman to win the prize for literature since 2010. The Swedish Academy, which oversees the award, said that Glück had been recognised for “her unmistakable poetic voice, that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. Born in […]
We’re thrilled to be working with @IanHumphWriter on this new Sylvia Plath project, with @youngpoetsnet @sarahcorbett70 @NineArchesPress thanks to @ace_national twitter.com/ianhumphwriter…
Excited to announce I’ve been awarded an ACE National Lottery Project Grant to produce a new Sylvia Plath book, which I’ll be co-editing with @sarahcorbett. The anthology of commissioned poems & essays will be published by @NineArchesPress in October 2022...
— Ian Humphreys (@IanHumphWriter) March 5, 2021
1/2#SylviaPlath pic.twitter.com/HvgYJRZdMa
The great annual scout-out for amazing young writers aged under 18 has begun for 2021! @PoetrySociety Foyle Young Poets Award is open for entries! Judges @poetclare and @YomiSode stand by. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
everyone who knows an 11-17 year old with a busy notebook and a beady eye - send them in this direction! twitter.com/youngpoetsnet/… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
pls enter if u can / tell people who are eligible to !! this competition changed my life a bit 🤠 twitter.com/youngpoetsnet/… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021 is now open! If you're aged 11-17 anywhere in the world, send us your poems. Intergalactic submissions considered too. This year's judges @poetclare and @YomiSode can't wait to read your work!
— Young Poets Network (@youngpoetsnet) March 4, 2021
Enter by 31 July: https://t.co/SFtZjfbwLh pic.twitter.com/4RTCQ3fePh
Awesomeness. It's a pleasure to be one of the judges re The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021. Thank you again @PoetrySociety. Gearing up to read poems so submit submit submiiiit! Nice one x twitter.com/PoetrySociety/… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021 is now open! If you're aged 11-17 anywhere in the world, send us your poems. Intergalactic submissions considered too. This year's judges @poetclare and @YomiSode can't wait to read your work! Enter by 31 July: bit.ly/foyleyoungpoets Retweeted by The Poetry Society
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021 is now open for entries! All poets worldwide aged 11-17. Intergalactic submissions considered too. Judges @poetclare and @YomiSode. Deadline 31 July bit.ly/foyleyoungpoet…
So much to love about this poem by Kate Potts in The Poetry Review @PoetrySociety 🧡 Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Are you/ Do you know a young writer aged 11-17 who has been waiting for the next Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award to open? Watch this space... #FoyleYoungPoets @youngpoetsnet Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Out in the dark over the snow The fallow fawns invisible go With the fallow doe. And the winds blow Fast as the stars are slow. #EdwardThomas, born #OTD in 1878 Engraving: Sarah van Niekerk Retweeted by The Poetry Society
“Poetic repetition knocks on the doors of words, it demands that they crack, that they open. Repetition wants for language to be more than language can ever be.” Thank you @ValzhynaMort for tonight’s @PoetrySociety lecture, your words insistent, and still echoing. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
The most wonderful lecture tonight by @ValzhynaMort via the @PoetrySociety The reading of the names of the families of Khatyn - the litany of names - read so tenderly. With each repetition I did hope for a rupture from the violence. Thank you, that was truly inspiring. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
"The white space between the stanzas offers a possibility of escape." ~ @ValzhynaMort on Paul Celan's "Todesfuge" and repetition in the @PoetrySociety lecture Retweeted by The Poetry Society
‘The dead are stable, persistent, and I, a person without a home, rely on the dead as my most reliable community.’ —still haunted by @ValzhynaMort's @PoetrySociety lecture in which the murdered live in litanies & faces appear in embroidery, on curtains, on napkins, everywhere. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
"Poetry tells us how history feels." —Valzhyna Mort during the @PoetrySociety Annual Lecture Retweeted by The Poetry Society
We won't all be able to dress up and come into school this #WorldBookDay... so how are you marking it? Retweeted by The Poetry Society
A fun #WorldBookDay activity involving poetry? Take up #FoyleYoungPoet Lydia Wei's challenge and re-mix fiction. Meet fictional characters in the supermarket. Write outraged tweet threads about plotlines. Make the subtext text. Find inspiration: ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/workshop/augus… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
New #poetryreview podcast: @LukeKennard speaks to @no1_emily on contemporary morality, prose poems & the prophetic voice plus reads poems from his current project insp. by Book of Jonah bit.ly/kennardpodcast
