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Recent Blog Updates

Articles, Poems, Tips & Advice from our Staff and Campus Community.

5 Scary Poetry Books You Should Read

Looking for some scary poetry this spooky season? Lewis Buxton, who is teaching his course The Talking Death on Saturday 31 October, talks us through his favourite scary poetry reads that are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine! Obviously, poetry books aren’t full of jump scares and decapitations, but they can leave us with…

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How I Did It: Keith Jarrett

Welcome to our Forward Prizes 2026 ‘How I Did It’ series. This year we asked poets shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize for Best Collection to write about the inspiration behind one of the poems from their book. Here’s Keith Jarrett on what inspired him to write the poem ‘islands [a cobra in the cockpit]’ in…

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4 Poets Who Innovated Typographical Poetry

Interested in the poetry of typographical innovation? Lydia Kennaway, who is teaching her London course Fontasia: Poetry & Rebellious Typography this October tells us about four poets who innovated the appearance of poetic text. George Herbert Herbert is often presented as a forerunner of Concrete or Visual Poetry, with ‘Easter Wings’ his most well-known example,…

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Kate Simpson on her Site-Specific Nature Poem

In this blog Kate Simpson reflects on the process behind her Site-Specific Nature Poem. The poem is part of Blue Space a Poetry School commissioned project taking place in Leeds in Autumn 2026 in partnership with Yorkshire Design Group and Canal & River Trust. You can read the poem here. I’ve lived near rivers for most of my…

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Laurel Prize Winner 2026: ‘Midden Witch’ by Fiona Benson

The Poetry School and UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage are delighted to announce the winner of The Laurel Prize 2026 is Fiona Benson for her collection Midden Witch (Jonathan Cape). Fiona has been awarded £5,000 and a four-night writing retreat in mid-Wales courtesy of 2026 prize partners Write Within. WHAT THE JUDGES SAY “Fiona Benson’s…

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