Free Verse is an all-day market, celebrating the vitality of contemporary poetry in the UK, publishers and organisations both large and small, both experimental and traditional, who display and sell their work direct to the public. Free Verse is managed by The Poetry Society. The 2020 fair will feature over 70 poetry stalls to browse […]
Poetry @ 3 is (usually) the first Thursday of each month at the Poetry Cafe – 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. NOTE: Due […]
The Poetry Society celebrates the publication of the Winter 2019 issue of The Poetry Review with an exciting line-up of readers featuring Don Paterson, Victoria Kennefick and Amy Acre, who will be introduced by the Guest Editor of the issue, Colette Bryce. Doors open at 7pm, readings begin at 7.30pm. The event is FREE but […]
Artlyst, in association with The Poetry Society, is launching a new international award for poetry based on works of art, the Artlyst Art to Poetry Award. From ancient times poets have been inspired by art. Ekphrastic poetry has given us some of the most celebrated poems in the English language from Keats’ ‘Ode on a […]
Poetry Archive has launched a very special collection of poems from winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. Run by The Poetry Society and generously supported by The Foyle Foundation, the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award has been discovering, celebrating and supporting the very best young poets from around the […]
Jamaica’s Poet Laureate Lorna Goodison has been announced as the recipient of Her Majesty’s 2019 Gold Medal for Poetry, on the basis of the body of her work, which includes thirteen collections of poetry, as well as a selection of short stories. The Gold Medal for Poetry was established by King George V in 1933 […]
Christmas is on its way once more – and in one of London’s favourite traditions, the famous Norwegian Christmas Tree will soon begin its journey to Trafalgar Square. The Poetry Society and the Royal Norwegian Embassy are once again encircling the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree in poetry, to celebrate the City of Oslo’s annual gift […]
Poetry @ 3 is (usually) the first Thursday of each month at the Poetry Cafe – 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. NOTE: Due […]
All Poetry Society Members are welcome at the 2019 Annual General Meeting of The Poetry Society. Following the formal business of the AGM starting at 7pm there will be a celebratory reading (due to start around 7.30-7.45pm) featuring Jo Shapcott, Carole Bromley, winner of the Hamish Canham Prize 2019, Penny Boxall (2019 Stanza Poetry Competition […]
The Poetry Society is delighted to present a screening of Margaret Tait‘s haunting film Blue Black Permanent (1992). Tait’s only feature-length film, from her own screenplay, was produced by the BFI and is the first Scottish feature film directed by a woman.. The screening will be introduced by So Mayer, to tie in with their […]
Over the last year, The Poetry Society has been working on Historic England’s project Where Light Falls – a spectacular combination of light, history and poetry. A poem written by Jane Commane, exploring the war time history of Coventry Cathedral, and written with participants from local schools and community groups, will be projected on to the […]
Over the last year, The Poetry Society has been working on Historic England’s project Where Light Falls – a spectacular combination of light, history and poetry. A poem written by Keith Jarrett, exploring the war time history of St Paul’s Cathedral, and written with participants from local schools and community groups, will be projected on […]
NOTE: This event is now fully booked. Returns on the door only. The Poetry Society will be launching the Autumn issue of The Poetry Review, at the Poetry Café, London, on 9 October. Our exciting line-up includes Aria Aber, Colette Bryce and Greta Stoddart. We will also have a filmed recording by the acclaimed US […]
MusicArt, in association with The Poetry Society, presents a poetry-inspired concert for National Poetry Day, featuring pianist Annie Yim, the poet Zaffar Kunial and composers Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Raymond Yiu. ‘The Poet Speaks’, a MusicArt conceptual concert, combines the recorded voices of composers and writers with live piano, juxtaposing poems from two centuries with musical responses to […]
This National Poetry Day join master calligrapher Paul Antonio at a free drop-in session at the Poetry Café, during which he will demonstrate how to interpret lines of poetry into beautiful pages of script. Should you feel inspired, you can join in and create some calligraphy of your own to take home! Relax before or […]
Join us this National Poetry Day on the Clore Ballroom at Southbank Centre, London, for an unmissable free poetry event hosted by the incredible Joelle Taylor. We’ll be hearing from prize-winning poets Daljit Nagra, Raymond Antrobus, Dzifa Benson, Young People’s Laureate for London Theresa Lola, and former Foyle Young Poet Jasmine Simms – all thinking […]
To celebrate this year’s National Poetry Day, The Poetry Society has teamed up with London Underground to record some poets reading selected verse from the Poems on the Underground initiative. Poems will also be available to hear online on the day. Head to Covent Garden tube station on National Poetry Day to hear poems read […]
l-r: Jane Yeh (credit: Andy Forest), Kirsten Irving, Stephen Sexton (credit: Michael Weir) As the weeks count down towards the deadline for the 2019 National Poetry Competition on 31st October (enter here), The Poetry Society is delighted to welcome the competition’s 2016 winner Stephen Sexton who will read from his new debut collection If All […]
It’s the summer, which means it’s time for another Young Poets Takeover! This will be our fifth Takeover of The Poetry Café, as part of The Poetry Society’s programme for young writers. We are pushing young voices to the fore – so if you want to hear from the up-and-coming stars of the poetry world, […]
Have you ever translated a poem? This summer, The Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network has teamed up with Modern Poetry in Translation to challenge young writers worldwide to try their hand at translating poetry. Find out more about the challenge here. As part of this partnership we’re delighted to offer writers aged 14-25 a free […]
(left to right: Mukahang Limbu – picture credit: Cesare Di Giglio, Phoebe Power, Lucy Thynne) Three Foyle Young Poets, Mukahang Limbu, Lucy Thynne and Forward Prize winner Phoebe Power will be reading at this free event as part of the Ledbury Poetry Festival. The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award for poets aged […]
(l-r) Wayne Holloway-Smith, Katie Griffiths, Ella Frears The 2018 National Poetry Competition saw 10 prize winners chosen by the judges, from over 14,000 poems. This is your chance to hear readings from three of those fantastic commended and winning poets at Ledbury Poetry Festival. Commended poet Ella Frears, whose pamphlet Passivity, Electricity, Acclivity was published […]
THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED: please email [email protected] to be put on the waiting list, and we’ll let you know if a place becomes available. Please join us in The Poetry Café as we celebrate the launch of the Summer issue of The Poetry Review. Introduced by Editor Emily Berry, our exciting line-up of readers […]
(l-r) Wayne Holloway-Smith, Rachael Allen (credit: Daniela Silva), Zaffar Kunial (credit: Kevin Lake), Yvonne Reddick (credit: Hayley Madden) The Poetry Society and Faber are partnering to present an exciting quartet of striking poetry voices who are fast-gaining in reputation through recent publications and award wins. Join us for what promises to be a fabulous evening […]
Get ready – on Saturday 15 June we’re hosting our fourth free Young Poets Takeover. This time we’re extremely excited to be joined by three incredible young poets from Chicago who are taking the US poetry world by storm. Natalie Richardson, Kara Jackson and Patricia Frazier will be in London as part of a unique […]
A non-stop Poem-a-Thon featuring an astonishing line-up of sixty poets over ten hours raising money for The Poetry Society. 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 fabulous prizes! It’s going to […]
The Poetry Society is pleased to present a special reading of both children’s poetry and adult poetry from award-winning poet Kate Wakeling, held at the NOW Gallery on the Greenwich Peninsula, London. The event is one of seven literary events to tie in with NOW Gallery’s exhibition, ‘The Mouse and His Child’, named after the […]
Please join us in The Poetry Café as we celebrate the launch of the Spring issue of The Poetry Review. Introduced by Editor Emily Berry, our exciting line-up of readers will be Sophie Collins, Inua Ellams and Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Tickets are FREE but must be reserved in advance at [email protected] • Doors open at 7pm, readings […]
A rare mother and daughter double bill, this one! We welcome two poets from the same family for a night out at the Poetry Cafe – Jean Sprackland reading from her newly published book Green Noise, and Martha Sprackland reading recent work and new translations. Jean Sprackland is a poet and writer. She is the […]
Join us for at a celebratory 40th anniversary event for the National Poetry Competition – one of the most prestigious poetry competitions in the world – featuring readings and new commissions from some of the UK’s finest writers. The Poetry Society presents a dazzling line-up of ten poets who have gained recognition through the National […]
Join Mary Jean Chan in an interactive creative writing workshop which will hone in on some of the victorious poems from the past 40 years of the National Poetry Competition. You will explore these winning poems through group discussion and critical analysis, and undertake creative writing exercises to draw inspiration from these works and help bring new […]
The Poetry Society presents a special event featuring readings and Q & A from poet Yvonne Reddick, the winner of the inaugural Peggy Poole Award – a new talent development award recognising emerging writers in the North West of England – alongside the judge of this year’s competition, celebrated poet and critic Deryn Rees-Jones. Yvonne Reddick is the author of Ted […]
with Rachael Boast, Emily Critchley, Sarah Howe & guests “These words said welcome. Fare / Them well from what they are.” – from ‘Letter I’ by W.S. Graham Join us for a celebration of W.S. Graham with Rachael Boast, Emily Critchley, Sarah Howe and guests, reading poems inspired by Graham’s life and enduring legacy. Doors […]
The Poetry Society is pleased to bring poetry to an excitingly colourful programme at the ‘Friday Late: London Love Stories’ event at the London Transport Museum, an evening that coincides with the museum’s latest exhibition Poster Prize for Illustration: London Stories – a collection of remarkable personal illustrations, each capturing a different story inspired by life in, and love of, […]
Before the winners are announced in March for 2018’s competition, a chance to hear National Poetry Competition 2017 commended poets Jane Slavin and Joseph Butler, whose poems last year reached the top 10 out of over 13,000 entries. They will read alongside poet Hannah Lowe, one of the three judges of that year’s competition, who […]
This event is now fully booked. Email [email protected] to be added to the waiting list and we’ll let you know if a space becomes available. Please join us in The Poetry Café as we celebrate the launch of the Winter issue of The Poetry Review. Introduced by Editor Emily Berry, our exciting line-up readers will be […]
The Poetry Society presents a workshop in partnership with The National Gallery with poet Tamar Yoseloff who will guide you in creating your own poem inspired by Henri Rousseau’s famous oil-on-canvas painting Surprised! (also known as Tiger in a Tropical Storm). Tamar Yoseloff is a visiting guest lecturer at Newcastle University on the Poetry School […]
To coincide with the exhibitions ‘Robert Rauschenberg: Spreads 1975-83’ and ‘John Cage: Ryoanji’, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac and MusicArt supported by The Poetry Society present the world premiere of a musical performance inspired by Robert Rauschenberg’s collaborations with the pioneering avant-garde American composer John Cage. Co-created and performed by pianist Annie Yim with poet Kayo Chingonyi and composer […]
Christmas is on its way once more – and in one of London’s favourite traditions, the famous Norwegian Christmas Tree will soon begin its journey to Trafalgar Square. The Poetry Society and the Royal Norwegian Embassy are once again encircling the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree in poetry, to celebrate the City of Oslo’s annual gift […]
Members of The Poetry Society are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 28 November 2018. Even if you’re not a member of The Poetry Society, we warmly welcome you to attend the free celebratory readings. The readings will be led by Hugo Williams, a two-time winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize and awarded the […]
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