Members' AreaEach year, The Poetry Society commissions new artwork for the National Poetry Competition, which features on our entry forms and posters, before finally becoming the cover of our annual National Poetry Competition Winners’ Anthology. Recent artists to take up the challenge of translating poetry into picture include Isabel Rock, Jonathan Edwards and Eugenia Loli. For […]
News
A tribute to Ciaran Carson
Ciaran Carson, who sadly died on 6 October 2019, had a long association with The Poetry Society, as a contributor to The Poetry Review, as a National Poetry Competition judge, and as a noted translator shortlisted for the Society’s Popescu Translation Prize. Born in Belfast on 9 October 1948, Carson studied English at Queen’s University. […]
Andrew McMillan wins Polari Prize
Angela Chadwick and Poetry Society Member Andrew McMillan have been announced as the winners of the 2019 Polari Prizes, celebrating work that explores the LGBT experience. Chadwick’s highly acclaimed, dystopian thriller XX picked up the Polari First Book Prize for best debut whilst McMillan’s intimate poetry collection, Playtime, scooped the inaugural Polari Prize, beating other […]
Where Light Falls: new poems in light
The dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, silhouetted against Blitz fire and smoke. Coventry Cathedral, bombed and in flames. These iconic images from the Second World War – and the histories behind them – are the inspiration for two new poetry commissions encouraged into the world through Historic England’s project Where Light Falls. From 24th – […]
Congratulations to Forward Prize winners Fiona Benson, Stephen Sexton and Parwana Fayyaz
Congratulations to Fiona Benson, winner of the £10,000 Forward Prize for Best Collection for her collection Vertigo & Ghost (Cape), described as a retelling of Greek mythology for the #MeToo era. Several of the poems from the collection were first published in The Poetry Review and two, ‘[Zeus] Anatomical Dolls’ and ‘Haruspex’, can be read […]
A butt of sherry for new Poet Laureate Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage signing his Butt of Sherry in the headquarters of the CRDO in Jerez. To celebrate Simon Armitage’s appointment as the 21st Poet Laureate, he was invited by the Sherry producers of Jerez to receive the gift of a butt of Sherry. He has today visited the the area to choose his Sherry and […]
A tribute to Elaine Feinstein
Elaine Feinstein, who died on 23 September 2019, was an award-winning poet, novelist, biographer, a witty conversationalist and a spellbinding performer. Born Elaine Cooklin in Liverpool on 24 October 1930, she grew up in Leicester and read English at Newnham College, Cambridge. She subsequently read for the bar in London, but subsequently returned to Cambridge […]
Timothy Corsellis Prize 2019 winners announced
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Timothy Corsellis Prize 2019, marking the anniversary of Timothy Corsellis’s death. The Timothy Corsellis Prize was set up in memory of the young poet Timothy Corsellis, both as a memorial and an encouragement to others to explore the often overlooked field of Second World War poetry. […]
Penny Boxall wins The Poetry Society’s Stanza Competition
The winner of the 2019 Stanza Poetry Competition on the theme of ‘Lies’, judged by Geraldine Clarkson, is Penny Boxall (York Stanza) for her poem ‘The Dub Artist’. As part of Penny’s prize, she will be one of our guest readers at The Poetry Society’s AGM on 27 November at the Poetry Cafe, London, and […]
National Poetry 2019 – if truth be told…
Happy National Poetry Day 2019! National Poetry Day is a big annual celebration of poetry across the UK, this year on the theme of ‘Truth’. To mark the occasion, The Poetry Society is today delivering a swathe of activities including: poems being broadcast at selected stations on the London Underground (including Covent Garden, Moorgate and […]
Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2019 winners announced
The Poetry Society is delighted to announce the top 15 poets and 85 commended poets who are winners in the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2019. The winning entries were selected from over 6,000 poets and over 11,000 poems by this year’s poet judges Raymond Antrobus and Jackie Kay. Writers aged 11-17 entered […]
Helen Mort picks her Winchester longlist
Helen Mort Judge Helen Mort has picked her longlist for the 2019 Winchester Poetry Competition, including Poetry Society Members: Ama Bolton, Penny Boxall, Lewis Buxton, Martin Figura, Simon French, Rae Howells, Maria Isakova, Peter Iveson (for TWO poems), Stephen Keeler, Fiona Larkin, Robert Powell, Robert Stein, Ellora Sutton, Karen Tobias-Green, Mark Totterdell, Pat Winslow… as […]
BBC Proms Poetry Competition 2019 winners announced
The winners of the BBC Proms Poetry Competition 2019, for poems written in response to a piece of music in the 2019 Proms season, have been announced. This year’s competition was judged by poet and presenter of The Verb on BBC Radio 3 Ian McMillan, acclaimed poet Malika Booker and the Director of The Poetry […]
New guest editors announced for The Poetry Review
The Poetry Society is delighted to announce new guest editorships for the Winter 2019 and Spring 2020 issues of The Poetry Review as regular Editor Emily Berry is taking a short writing sabbatical until Summer 2020. The Poetry Society welcomes Colette Bryce as Editor of the Winter 2019 issue, which is published in December. Colette […]
Winning translations published on Young Poets Network
This summer, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network teamed up with Modern Poetry in Translation, challenging young poets worldwide to co-translate ‘Today’ by Western Armenian poet Lola Koundakjian. We provided a bridge translation and translator’s notes from Adham Smart, and an introduction to translating poetry by MPT editor Clare Pollard. Equipped with these translating tools, […]
Yvonne Reddick wins Ambit Poetry Competition
Congratulations to Poetry Society Member Yvonne Reddick, this year’s winner of the Ambit Poetry Competition on the theme of ‘Wild’ and judged by Liz Berry. Yvonne wins £500 for her poem ‘In the Burning Season’ which will be published in Ambit 238 with the rest of the top three poems. Yvonne was Joint runner-up […]
Laura Mucha wins the first YorkMix Poems for Children Competition
Laura Mucha has won the inaugural YorkMix Poems for Children Competition for her poem ‘Rapunzel’ [And sweet Rapunzel’s golden curls / would slowly tumble and unfurl / allowing Witch to clamber up / (occasionally getting stuck).] The judge was Carole Bromley: “a superb, funny, original retelling of the fairy-tale. I was delighted to find it […]
A tribute to Carole Satyamurti
We are sorry to announce the death of Carole Satyamurti, poet, sociologist, teacher and former winner of the National Poetry Competition, who died on 13 August. Carole was the author of six collections of poetry – her first three with Oxford University Press and the three thereafter with Bloodaxe. Stitching the Dark: New & Selected […]
Young Poets Networkers translate at The Poetry Café
This summer, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network teamed up with Modern Poetry in Translation to challenge young writers worldwide to try their hand at translating poetry. As part of this partnership YPN and MPT set up a free poetry translation workshop with MPT editor and poet Clare Pollard in The Poetry Café. On 14 […]
Jared A Carnie wins Paper Swans Press pamphlet prize
CONGRATULATIONS to Poetry Society Members Lizzie Holden (second for From the Bottom of the Wishing Well) and Pam Thompson (third for Hireling) in the Paper Swans Press Poetry Pamphlet Prize – won by Jared A Carnie for his pamphlet Lyme. Also Commended was Poetry Society Member Maria Isakova Bennett with fellow Members Lucy Maxwell Scott, […]
Segora Poetry Competition: winners are all Poetry Society Members
CONGRATULATIONS to Poetry Society Members Mary Gilonne, Sheila Aldous and Jenny Mitchell, top three in this year’s Segora Poetry Competition. First prize £300, second £50, Third £30, judged by Maggie Butt. Also on the shortlist was fellow Member Tim Waller. Maggie Butt: “Judging the Segora competition has been hard. Not just because of the number […]
Winners of Live Canon Pamphlet Competition are all Poetry Society Members
CONGRATULATIONS to Poetry Society Members Robin Houghton, Miranda Peake, Tania Hershman and Katie Griffiths – winners of the Live Canon Pamphlet Competition. All four will have pamphlets published by Live Canon. The competition was for pamphlets of between 18 and 35 poems. The winning publications are Was it the Diet Coke, and other questions – […]
Roger Bloor wins Poetry London Clore Competition
CONGRATULATIONS to Poetry Society Member Roger Bloor, winner of this year’s Poetry London Clore Competition, judged by Sasha Dugdale. Roger’s pamphlet A Less Clear Dream was shortlisted for the Arnold Bennett Book Prize in 2018, and Aldgedeslegh was shortlisted for the Arnold Bennett Book Prize 2019. He is also a Poetry Society Stanza rep in […]
Timothy Corsellis Prize 2019 launches
The Poetry Society’s Timothy Corsellis Prize for poets aged 25 or younger is open for its sixth year. Timothy Corsellis was a young poet and pilot killed in 1941. The Prize was set up in his name, with the support of his family, to encourage more people to read the powerful but lesser-known poets of […]
Jill Munro wins Arvon 5-day poetry challenge
To celebrate National Writing Day in June, Arvon ran a 5-day poetry challenge. Over the course of five days poets were asked to shape up a poem from first to final draft with guidance and exercises from Jen Hadfield. Each poet received an email daily containing a handy writing prompt, dutifully crafted for them by […]
Listen to the Ledbury Festival podcast featuring 2018 National Poetry Competition winners
Ledbury Poetry Festival is one of the highlights of the UK poetry calendar, and each year The Poetry Society heads to Ledbury to showcase recent winners of the National Poetry Competition. The most recent festival included readings from 2018 National Poetry Competition winners Ella Frears (commended), Katie Griffiths (2nd prize) and Wayne Holloway-Smith (1st prize), […]
Claudia Daventry wins Hippocrates Open Award
It’s been a bumper year for Poetry Society Members in the 2019 Hippocrates Awards for Poetry and Medicine. Claudia Daventry has won the Open prize for her poem ‘for my Valentine in an fMRI scanner’. Claudia’s work has won several awards and commendations, including Arvon, Philip Larkin and McLellan prizes, and was placed first in […]
Dawn Gorman wins the Brian Dempsey Pamphlet Prize
Congratulations to Dawn Gorman, the winner of the 2019 Brian Dempsey Pamphlet Prize, judged by Anna Saunders. Dawn will be offered publication of a 36-page pamphlet of her poems, including 20 copies, and £100 cash. Congratulations, too, to Poetry Society Member Derek Adams, one of three other poets on the shortlist. In the Individual Poem […]
Helena Goddard wins Poetry on the Lake Silver Wyvern prize
Congratulations to Poetry Society Member Helena Goddard who is the winner of this year’s Poetry on the Lake Silver Wyvern competition for her poem ‘Rower, Battersea Lake’, and to fellow Member Graham Burchell, who has won second prize for ‘Dead in the Water’. Graham is a former winner of The Poetry Society’s Stanza Competition, as […]
Geneviève Carver appointed as Ilkley Literature Festival Apprentice Poet in Residence
Ilkley Literature Festival (ILF) have appointed Poetry Society Member Geneviève Carver alongside Shash Trevett as their new Apprentice Poets in Residence for the year. The position is usually awarded to one poet each year but this year the calibre of applications was so exceptional that ILF took the unprecedented step of offering the Apprentice role […]
Young poets respond to the moon
This summer, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network teamed up with Moon Festival to challenge young poets to follow in the footsteps of Li Bai, Sappho, P.B. Shelley, Alice Oswald and more – and respond poetically to the moon. The response to the challenge was fantastic. It was one of our most popular Young Poets […]
Poetry Society unveils trail at Seven Dials Festival 30
This Saturday 29th June, find The Poetry Society stand on Earlham St, Covent Garden, London, among the Seven Dials Festival 30 celebrations. The Poetry Society is running a special poetry trail of poems that have featured in its journal The Poetry Review among a series of selected shops in the area. Following the trail could […]
Peter D Lyons wins erbacce-prize for poetry
This year’s erbacce-prize for poetry received just under eight thousand submissions and from every country in the world. The winner is Peter D Lyons from Ireland. Close on Peter’s heels were Poetry Society Members Angela Platt, Caroline Maldonado, Colin Dardis, Denni Turp, Karen Tobias-Green, Dino Mahoney, Laurence Bainbridge, Lisa Lopresti, Rodney Wood, and Sarah Steele […]
Tina Cole wins Welshpool Poetry Competition
Tina Cole is the winner of this year’s Welshpool Poetry Competition as judged by Liz Berry. Poetry Society Members Helen Kay and Kathryn Bevis were second and third, with fellow Society Members Jane Burn, Estelle Price, Paul Waring and Kate Wise among the Commendations. This year’s winning poems are: ‘Makeover’ by Tina Cole ‘Hen Coop’ […]
Mary Jean Chan and Carole Bromley win Geoffrey Dearmer and Hamish Canham Prizes
Mary Jean Chan has won The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize for her poem ‘The Fencer’ (now titled ‘Flèche’) for the best poem published in The Poetry Review by a poet who doesn’t yet have a full collection, while Carole Bromley has won the Hamish Canham Prize for her poem ‘First Year’, judged to be the best […]
Linda Saunders wins Poetry Teignmouth competition
The winner of the Teignmouth Poetry Prize is ‘Outside Chance’ by Poetry Society Member Linda Saunders. Judge John Greening said: “This poet knows what E.M. Forster meant by ‘only connect’, juxtaposing different elements with immense care and clarity: the shoes, the shell, the glasses, the egg-cups, the elephants, they all process and are processed into […]
Hannah Walker & Emily Vanderploeg share Cinnamon Pamphlet prize
Congratulations to Hannah Walker and Emily Vanderploeg who shared the Cinnamon Pamphlet prize this year for their pamphlets Attention and Loose Jewels. The 2019 judge was Ian Gregson. In total, over 500 pamphlets were submitted. Poetry Society Members Maiya Dambawinna (one of the Foyle Young Poet of the Year 2018 winners) and Scott Elder were […]
Longlist for 2019 Live Canon Pamphlet Competition
Plenty of Poetry Society Members on this year’s Live Canon pamphlet competition longlist. The competition was for pamphlets of between 18 and 35 poems. Four pamphlets will be selected for publication by the Live Canon Poetry Press. Poetry Society Members on the longlist are Robin Houghton, Miranda Peake, Maeve Henry, Kathryn Southworth, Tania Hershman, Christopher […]
Joanne Key among the winners of Candlestick’s Snow Poem Competition
Candlestick Press have announced the winners of their ‘Snow Poem’ poetry competition, judged by Carole Bromley. In the end they chose three (rather than the planned two) winners and we’re delighted that Poetry Society Member Joanne Key was picked among the three for her poem ‘for the love of snow’. Carole also chose ‘Snow Day’ […]
Mary Wight wins FWS Vernal Equinox Competition
Poetry Society Member Mary Wight, from Melrose, is the winner of the 2019 Federation of Writers (Scotland) Vernal Equinox poetry competition, judged by Stephen Watt, FWS Makar for 2019. Stephen said of Mary’s winning poem, ‘Fish’ “I found this vibrant, eavesdropping poem incredibly endearing as it rotated like a slideshow with images of friendship, romance, […]
Listening to @BBCRadio4 Pick of the Week especially in hope that @taniahershman’s programme would be chosen. Thanks @CatherineJBott for not disappointing! bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Great audience for Lisbon/Cascais @PoetrySociety Stanza group reading 😊 Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Poet Kathleen Jamie features among Sarah Hall's cultural highlights theguardian.com/culture/2019/n…
"I used to lie in wait to see the clover open Or close, But never saw it." From Margaret Tait's poem 'Now' See Tait's feature film Blue Black Permanent tomorrow 7pm Poetry Cafe London introduced by So Mayer @tr0ublemayer bit.ly/TaitBlueMayer #tait100 @MargaretTait100
"Don’t fell the trees For your city, because I need them for mine." From Margaret Tait's 'A Poem for a Morning' See Tait's feature film Blue Black Permanent tomorrow 7pm Poetry Cafe London introduced by So Mayer @tr0ublemayer bit.ly/TaitBlueMayer #tait100 @MargaretTait100
25 percent of poets in our poll are terrified of microphones! twitter.com/PoetrySociety/…
Poets! Your microphone skills are...
— The Poetry Society (@PoetrySociety) November 15, 2019
Busy getting ready for Lisbon/Cascais stanza group’s @PoetrySociety reading in Estoril tomorrow. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
It’s your final night to catch the BREATH-TAKING free light installation on Coventry Cathedral with wraparound sound of poet @CommaJane twitter.com/CommaJane/stat…
Back @CovCathedral for #WhereLightFalls - on until 9pm, then final evening tomorrow 5-9pm - if you can’t join us, see @HistoricEngland for the livestream pic.twitter.com/AIOE3S3CnO
— CommaJane (@CommaJane) November 15, 2019
A poem for the weekend: 'Tea-time at My Aunt's' by Helen Farish, featured in the Winter 2014 issue of The Poetry Review @PoetrySociety bit.ly/2QnktAO ✒️ Retweeted by The Poetry Society
"There’s a whole country at the foot of the stone If you care to look" From Margaret Tait's poem 'The Scale of Things' Tait's feature film Blue Black Permanent 18th Nov 7pm Poetry Cafe London introduced by So Mayer @tr0ublemayer bit.ly/TaitBlueMayer #tait100 @MargaretTait100
"Flame Is a thing I Always wonder about." From Margaret Tait's poem 'Flame' Tait's feature film Blue Black Permanent screening 18th Nov 7pm Poetry Cafe London introduced by So Mayer @tr0ublemayer bit.ly/TaitBlueMayer #tait100 @MargaretTait100
Poets! Your microphone skills are...
Job alert! @RSLiterature are currently seeking an Events and Outreach Manager (£26,500- £30, 000, full time, permanent) to join their small, busy, sociable team based in Somerset House. Application deadline Monday 18 November 2019, at 6pm. rsliterature.org/about-us/jobs/ #artsjobs
CONGRATULATIONS! 🍾@Thea_otipkova - WINNER of the #WFPoetryComp run by @ForestPoets Stanza for 'Bats' Where I come from people would hammer them by their wings to wooden gates little furry Christs squealing not so much with pain as for the denied flight...
Next Wed @FaberBooks @Southwarkcathed An evening of spoken word and music, celebrating the work of two of the great artists of the 20th century: Benjamin Britten and T.S. Eliot #InPlaceandTime bit.ly/inplaceandtime
SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN JANUARY! If you missed our early morning Friday Surgery sale today - there's more! Booking now for 1-1 feedback on your poems with @heidiwilliamson SAT 18 JANUARY 2020 - poetrysociety.org.uk/event/heidijan… twitter.com/PoetrySociety/…
Poets! This could be your lucky day! Due to a late cancellation, @heidiwilliamson has 1 slot available on her 1-1 Skype feedback session on SAT 7 December - it's at 3.30pm and you can book at https://t.co/wPiiHSrMpU
— The Poetry Society (@PoetrySociety) November 15, 2019
"Her observations about my poems were precise and astute" pic.twitter.com/U0rmmAAZxZ
Join us on Sunday at 4.30pm @BoulevardSoho where award-winning poets Glyn Maxwell and Mona Arshi will be reading, in this stunning new theatre. boulevardtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/sunda… @PoetrySociety @magmapoetry Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Poets! This could be your lucky day! Due to a late cancellation, @heidiwilliamson has 1 slot available on her 1-1 Skype feedback session on SAT 7 December - it's at 3.30pm and you can book at poetrysociety.org.uk/event/heididec… "Her observations about my poems were precise and astute"
Follow @HistoricEngland and #wherelightfalls for more images and a link to a live stream of @CommaJane's poem for Coventry Cathedral ...
