Acclaimed poet Selima Hill is the subject of the latest edition in The Poetry Review podcast series. In a searching, wide-ranging and often very funny exchange, Hill talks to Review editor Emily Berry about being both a prolific writer and a private person, about secrecy and rebellion, embodiedness and encodedness. Her writing process is, Hill […]
Young Poets Network gave me a huge sense of self-worth. It really helped me believe that I could be, that I was, a poet. John Blackmore It’s got everything – whether you’d like to read new poems, find resources on writing or find free writing challenges to submit to, YPN’s incredibly resourceful and has been […]
NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writing Month, is a creative writing project held every April, originally set up by poet and publisher Maureen Thorson in 2003. NaPoWriMo invites poets to write a poem a day for the duration of April, coinciding with National Poetry Month in the US and Canada. To mark the occasion, The Poetry […]
Marvin Thompson has been announced by The Poetry Society as the winner of the National Poetry Competition at the National Poetry Competition Awards event live on Zoom. Judges Neil Astley, Jonathan Edwards and Karen McCarthy Woolf have awarded first prize for the National Poetry Competition for Marvin Thompson’s poem ‘The Fruit of the Spirit is […]
The Poetry Society has announced that Maria Isakova-Bennett has been chosen by poet and editor Vona Groarke as the winner of the Peggy Poole Award 2020, at the National Poetry Competition Awards event live on Zoom on 25 March. Maria will receive mentoring from Vona as her prize, culminating in a celebratory reading in the […]
The spring 2021 issue of The Poetry Review, with suitably exuberant cover artwork by Kate Dehler, is published this week by The Poetry Society. Contributors this spring include Mary Jean Chan, Helen Farish, Jamie McKendrick, Ishion Hutchinson, Amlanjyoti Goswami, Stephanie Sy-Quia, Vona Groarke (this year’s Peggy Poole Award judge), Paula Bohince (a former National Poetry […]
As part of World Poetry Day’s celebrations, the UK’s plans for an AI-powered interactive poetry installation for the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai have been announced. The Expo 2020 is now scheduled to take place in October 2021 – March 2022. Using AI generated poetry, a ‘Collective Message’ will be projected on the façade […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
“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 […]
“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, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In 2019, @ssexton02 won a @ForwardPrizes for his book If All the World and Love Were Young, about the video game Super Mario World. Inspired by this, we're challenging you to incorporate pop culture into your poetry. Find out more and submit by 21 Nov: bit.ly/popculturechal… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
A big dog @KateDehler welcomes you to the new Autumn issue of #PoetryReview ed. @no1_emily. Sample content & get your issue here bit.ly/poetryreviewau…
Fascinating chat on @PoetrySociety podcast with @rachelnalong David Constantine & Fiona Benson judges of the #NationalPoetryCompetition. Nice shoutouts to @Carrie_Etter @kimmoorepoet @MarlonJames5 @CarolineBirdUK @AMcMillanPoet as sources of inspiration bit.ly/3kFuU1h Retweeted by The Poetry Society
“If there is an unspoken Grand Slam circuit for poetry prizes, then the National Poetry Competition is definitely Wimbledon,” — Christopher James, 2008 winner. We spoke to 5 previously unpublished poets who claimed the prize. buff.ly/3kDm8AR #TheFridayPoem @PoetrySociety Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Thrilled to have our 2021 Introductions poets here with us at Poetry Ireland! Yesterday they took part in a workshop with @seanehewitt, and back again this morning for sessions with @NiChurr and @JessicaTraynor6 Retweeted by The Poetry Society
"[Video games are] seen as being gimmicky or a waste of time. Nevertheless, hundreds of millions of people play them every day and [...] that interest isn’t really reflected in literature." @ssexton02 We challenge you to change that. Find out more: bit.ly/popculturechal… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Don't miss the unmissable launch of the new autumn #PoetryReview issue ed. @no1_emily on Zoom 13 Oct 7pm BST featuring fabulous four Rachael Allen @r_vallen, Sheri Benning, @saralaestruch & Shane McCrae @akasomeguy bit.ly/reviewaut21lau…
Congratulations to all the poets awarded our Winter Selections Vahni Capildeo, Polly Atkin, Harry Josephine Giles, Lila Matsumoto, Stephanie Sy-Quia, Ian Duhig, Tua Forsström and in memory of Owen Lowery. The days may be darkening but there are so many great poetry books to come! Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Great article @TheFridayPoem on five poets who have won the #NationalPoetryCompetition without a poetry track record. Could one of your poems win? The comp is open to all poets worldwide at bit.ly/2021npc twitter.com/TheFridayPoem/…
Entries to the National Poetry Competition close on 31st October. But is it worth entering if you’re not an established poet? You bet it is! The Friday Poem spoke to five previously unpublished poets who claimed the prize https://t.co/UjZkcN7Pot #TheFridayPoem @PoetrySociety pic.twitter.com/NsTgkC76DZ
— The Friday Poem (@TheFridayPoem) September 24, 2021
“Can there be an Arabic prose poem?” is a specific instantiation of the more universal question “Can there be a prose poem?” In Arabic the question takes on added urgency because it threatens to transform the long-standing definition of Arabic poetry. More j.mp/3AJsBQ8 Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Poems of Sisterhood and Solidarity A curated evening of poetry, dance and film hosted by @ForwardPrizes-winner @arshi_mona, curated by @rachelnalong, founder of Octavia, the poetry collective for women of colour #EnglishPEN100 📅 25 September (5pm) 🔗 bit.ly/3lIEPCl Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Only TWO WEEKS left until National Poetry Day #NationalPoetryDay 🙈 - mailchi.mp/forwardartsfou… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
At #ContainsStrongLanguage spoken word fest in @Coventry2021 over the next 4 days: Live @BBCSounds shows with @Cerysmatthews & @StuartMaconie on @bbc6music; The Verb & Music Matters on @BBCRadio3. First up, @BBCFrontRow tonight at 7.15pm on @BBCRadio4. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Join us next Tuesday 28th at 7pm (BST) on Instagram Live (@poetrybooksociety) for PBS Book Club with Hannah Lowe and Jack Underwood hosted by Anthony Anaxagorou! Retweeted by The Poetry Society
twitter.com/intent/tweet?t… Come join @reddoorpoets on Sunday 26th at 6, on zoom for our stellar line up: Gillie Robic, @lesleyksharpe @MaryMulhol, @JaneBurn11, @gail_mcconnell_, @rmcfarlane63 Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Starting from today at 7 pm CEST we're posting a series of readings from this year's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes on our YouTube Channel: bit.ly/3nZtlxl Poems have been read by our wonderful actors Polly Edsell, Fred Fergus, Harry Lloyd Yorke, and Tom Palmer. Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Join us to celebrate the launch of Poems and Satires by Edna St Vincent Millay, newly published as a Carcanet Classic edited by @TATFS on October 6th! Tristram will discuss the poems with Abigail Parry. Register for £2 tickets: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Today is the day we have all been waiting for, #ContainsStrongLanguage 2021 has arrived! Check out what's in store by heading here 👉coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/bbc-… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Joining us this afternoon at #ContainsStrongLanguage we have @ProfDavidMorley and @WKWT hosting a wildlife inspired poetry workshop. We also have @TherealNihal as he presents @bbc5live from the Belgrade Theatre. Find out more about the events here 👉coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/bbc-… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
Flex your poetry muscles tonight at 6:30pm with @LauraWOK in the Oak Tent. | Part of #ArtandSoul21 Using poetry, pop songs & post-it notes we’ll explore female identity, the labels we are given and the stories we choose to tell about ourselves applecartarts.com/in_the_theatre… Retweeted by The Poetry Society
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