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Killer Serials: Sequences, Groups and Multi-part Poems
An Interview with Simon Barraclough
A man of many projects, Simon Barraclough is well placed to guide our students towards successful sequences in his new spring term course, Killer Serials: Sequences, Groups and Multi-part Poems. All three of his collections hinge on the strength of their sequences; my personal favourite is the series of heart poems in Neptune Blue (Salt,…
Poetry School
The end of a residency
So it is now the end of my digital residency with the Poetry School and I am having trouble concluding. It was an exciting time for me to be involved, seeing CAMPUS grow in numbers, reading the fascinating blogposts by Julia Bird, Amy Key, Nia Davis, participating in the Live Q&A’s, pushing students of the…
Claire Trevien
How I Did It: ‘As they pulled you out of the oxygen tent / you asked for the latest party’
This is the last poem that made it into my new book, just as the publishers and printers were calling time. It’s a definite Summer of 2013 snapshot. When I wrote it, all these things were in the air: the David Bowie Is exhibition at the V&A; BOWIEOKE (David Bowie karaoke) at The Betsy Trotwood,…
Julia Bird (Poetry School Staff)
How I Did It: ‘Violet-among-the-Harpsichord’
I was commissioned by Claire Trévien to write a new poem for her Penning Perfumes Christmas Special. In the Penning Perfumes projects you are sent a mystery perfume to write a poem about. Once you’ve completed the poem, the scent is revealed to you. The idea is that you are able to work with the…
Amy Key
‘Levelling Song’
I am the new crow laureate of the empire state, perched on a cushion at the right hand of the governor, by his appointment, a bard-bird of sorts; diamonds sparkling in my claws, I wear a ruby crown, and sing a song so strong it rivals Niagara’s electrifying roar, saving millions for Albany; I sing…
Lisa Bellamy
Maintenant! An interview with S J Fowler
An Interview with S J Fowler
Has any other poet thrown himself into curating and collaboratively creating contemporary poetry with the same enthusiasm as S J Fowler? Publishing five collections in three years is an achievement in itself, but there’s also something admirable about the way he draws other artists and poets into his creative orbit, whether that be by collaborating…
Sarah Dawson
‘People on the beach’
Before and also during this residency I was uncertain about the whole idea of ‘poetry of place’. I’m not sure, for instance, that a poem can ‘capture’ a locale, or relive a culture. Even if land changes fairly slowly, culture and language are changing all the time – they exist because of real human beings…
Nia Davies
Poetic tourism
When I first pitched the idea for this blog post I felt very strongly about the subject of poetic tourism (i.e against it), or at least I thought I did. Concretising my thoughts has made it unfortunately clear to me that this is not as clear cut a topic as I’d hoped, and it is…
Claire Trevien
‘Feelings’
On the Shingle Street residency we talked a great deal about how to get into the mode of writing a poem – how to get into the right feeling. Amy said that one way she writes poetry is to place objects or images around her which give her particular feelings and she tries to bring…
Nia Davies
Special thanks to James Revill for making sure the whole Trip went ahead!
Mardy bum nah then bloomin’ ‘eck. What’s that when it’s at ooam. Eeh ah’ll gi’ thi summat to rooer abaht ah’ll gi’ thee a thick ear. Eeh ee by gum what’s that when it’s at ooam gi’ o’er face like a slapped arse. Eeh appens as maybe. That’s champion ah’ll box thi ears ah’ll box…
Shane Rounce
Shingle Street Residency interview with Amy Key
An Interview with Amy Key
Last month, out intrepid poets-in-residence, Amy Key and Nia Davies, were in Shingle Street on the Suffolk coast for a week of writing, homesteading and blogging. Thank you to Poetry School trustee Daphne Astor and her friend Tim Miller (owner of the Shingle Street cottage) for offering this residency opportunity. Amy and Nia were kind enough…
Julia Bird (Poetry School Staff)
The Poetry School / Pighog Poetry Pamphlet Competition 2013-14
Following the success of last year’s competition, we are delighted to present the second Poetry School / Pighog Poetry Pamphlet Competition. First Prize: Publication by Pighog Press and 40 copies of the pamphlet 4 Runners up: a free place on a Poetry School activity Judges: Simon Barraclough and Catherine Smith Closing date for initial entries:…
Poetry School
Penned in the Margins Quadruple Launch
Before I had a wider understanding of poetry publishing houses in the UK, Penned in the Margins was my portal into the small press poetry world. Now that my tunnel vision has widened somewhat, I’m still consistently surprised and intrigued by their catalogue, so it was a pleasure to be introduced to their latest books in…
Sarah Dawson
Best Friends Forever: call for submissions
Best Friends Forever (BFF) is a new anthology of poems on female friendship edited by Amy Key, to be published by The Emma Press. This new anthology aims to reflect the scale of intensity within female friendships – the intimate and the casual, the life sustaining and the life changing, as well as the tensions…
Poetry School
Poems on the Hebrew Bible
An Interview with
Eve Grubin’s new one-day workshop – Poems on the Hebrew Bible – draws attention to one of the most influential books of all time, by way of Milton, Keats, Robert Frost, Sharon Olds, and countless other poets it has inspired. With the use of translations, Eve will be peering under the mantle of this classic holy…
Poetry School
The 100 poems challenge
What is it about being a poet that makes challenges so attractive? Many questioned my sanity when, inspired by Tim Clare, I decided to take part in a challenge to write 100 poems in a day. Tim Clare is a dab hand at this, having participated in the challenge for the last five years. In the…
Claire Trevien
Open Workshop with Richie McCaffery: ‘Treasuring the priceless pearl’
We’re delighted to have Richie McCaffery, one of our Aldeburgh highlights, teaching the next of our Open Workshops series: ‘Treasuring the priceless pearl’ or ‘not your dear last master’? : Using inheritances and heirlooms to form poems For this assignment, you will explore the ‘inner eloquence’ of the items we inherit, using heirlooms and objects…
Poetry School
Poetry Library 60th Birthday Party Readings
“I hope you’re in a cream fondant sort of mood”, said Annie Freud, reflecting on sixty years of the one of the world’s most extensive poetry resources. And we couldn’t fail to be, as the occasion of the Poetry Library’s 60th birthday presented us with a formidable poetic banquet. The night opened with six commissioned…
Sarah Dawson
Live Q&A with W. N. Herbert: ‘Wish I Was Here: When Is The Poet Present?’
W. N. Herbert – poet, critic and Dundee’s first ever makar (that’s ‘bard’ to you or I) – is coming to CAMPUS Live Q&A’s this Friday 6 December. Bill is the author of one of our favourite poetry books of the year – the mind-melting/melding future classic, Omnesia (available from Bloodaxe in glorious twin editions)….
Poetry School
Tidemarks and Tidelines
Fawzia Kane’s new course Tidemarks and Timelines – a poetic investigation into shifting riverbanks, waxing coastlines and the tidal time-marks of history – starts this January at the Poetry School. Fawzia’s Dark Sparks course from last year was enchanting – students wrote by lamplight, kept haiku diaries, watched the sun set over Tower Bridge, visited…
Poetry School
Reviews as a creative act
Does reviewing feed into your writing? This is one of the questions I, and other poet-reviewers, hear most frequently. Well firstly, I feel that I need to add the following disclaimer: I’ve been heavily reducing my own reviewing of late, mostly as an act of self-preservation. I reserve my reviewing energy for other magazines than…
Claire Trevien
Live Q&A with Pascale Petit and Claire Trévien: ‘Transforming Trauma into Poetry’
Poetry School co-founder, Pascale Petit, will be online this Friday (22 Nov) to discuss the topic of ‘Transforming Trauma into Poetry’. And we need your questions! Pascale is particularly interested to hear questions about her collections The Zoo Father and What the Water Gave Me: Poems after Frida Kahlo, and her upcoming book Fauverie (due Autumn…
Poetry School
Lo-fi poetry: a best-of
In a recent interview with Helen Ivory, we discussed the new dawn of lo-fi poetry: zines that embrace their low-budgets, a preference for the hand-crafted over the sleek. Helen came up with this wonderful summary of the situation: ‘because of Kindle, books will generally become more beautiful as objects and be valued as such, rather…
Claire Trevien
Why We Built CAMPUS: A Foreword from our Director
With the launch of the CAMPUS blog, I’m delighted that we can now open up the Poetry School’s CAMPUS social network for public registration. CAMPUS is an online platform that incorporates the Poetry School’s tutor-led educational activity (online courses and workshops) and many free activities (digital poets in residence, live Q&A’s, video essays) within a…
Ollie Dawson