Primers
‘lessons in glass’ by Olga Dermott-Bond — Primers Shortlist 2018
Olga Dermott-Bond is on the ten-person shortlist for Primers Volume Four. ‘lessons in glass’ is the title poem of her shortlised manuscript. We’ve been showcasing the work of all the shortlisted writers over the past two weeks. Click here to read more poems. Olga Dermott-Bond is originally from Northern Ireland and now lives in Warwickshire, where she is…
Olga Dermott-Bond ‘Shadow Boxing’ by Lewis Buxton — Primers Shortlist 2018
______ Lewis Buxton is on the ten-person shortlist for Primers Volume Four. ‘Shadow Boxing’ is taken from his shortlisted manuscript, Weight. We’ll be showcasing the work of all the shortlisted writers over the next two weeks, so check back to read more poems. Born in London in 1993, Lewis Buxton is a poet, performer & arts producer. His poems have…
Lewis Buxton
Primers: Volume Four Mentoring and Publication Scheme Open for Entries
The Poetry School and Nine Arches Press are excited to announce that Primers Volume Four is now open for entries. Primers is an annual mentoring and publication scheme organised by the Poetry School and Nine Arches Press. It provides a unique opportunity for talented poets to find publication and receive a programme of supportive feedback,…
Poetry School
Primers Volume 3 Launches in London on 3rd May
The London Launch of Primers: Volume Three by Romalyn Ante, Sarala Estruch and Aviva Dautch will take place on Thursday 3rd May at the Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell, at 19:30. The poets will be introduced by Nine Arches Press editor Jane Commane and Primers selecting editor Hannah Lowe. The event is free and no…
Poetry School
Sarala Estruch, Romalyn Ante and Aviva Dautch Selected for Primers Vol 3
Congratulations to Romalyn Ante, Sarala Estruch and Aviva Dautch, who have been selected for this year’s Primers! Each poet will receive mentoring from Hannah Lowe, editorial support from Jane Commane, and publication in Primers Volume Three with Nine Arches Press! Nine Arches editor and Primers judge, Jane Commane said: “Huge congratulations to our three finalists, and…
Poetry School ‘Half-empty’ by Romalyn Ante – Primers Shortlist 2017
‘The Philippines must be half-empty; you’re all here running the NHS’ – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Drug: Migrationazoline (available in full or half-empty bottles) Indications: ____– prophylaxis of parents who nag like masonry drills, ______saying they did not send you to college ______to be a health-centre volunteer ____– ulcers on the lips for eating…
romalyn ante ‘Baby’ by Amelia Loulli – Primers Shortlist 2017
Most people drown without _______making a noise or splashing. See me here Baby, watch me _______lying out plank, below the surface, all that stillness, all that _______peace, see how long I can breathe down here alone. You must _______trust me, I am your mother after all, don’t think about the firefighter who _______lies to the…
Amelia Loulli ‘To The Wounded Among Us*’ by Sarala Estruch – Primers Shortlist 2017
But everyone is wounded a little. What are hearts but purple, pumping wounds? What are we but hearts travelling in skin suits? Today we are tired of listening. This morning we woke with our ears full, cochleae still reverberating with gunshot and the bombs we detonated yesterday in yet another failed coup to colonise…
Sarala Estruch ‘Athenian Light’ by Kostya Tsolákis – Primers Shortlist 2017
I was born into it in late September, when it’s sweet and hued at sunset like the seeded flesh of figs. Smog meddled with it at the time, hanging over Athens like bad history. And growing up, what use was lyrical light when stuck two hours every day in an airless school bus, my biggest…
Kostya Tsolákis ‘Elders of the Pot’ by Jasmine Cooray – Primers Shortlist 2017
They sit in a rainbow of re-used jam jars, watch the traffic of the kitchen, hold proverb and gossip in their gnarled shapes and powders. Every wooden spoon is yellow to the neck. Turmeric, coriander, mustard seed land on the heat of inherited pans, smoke their sour huck into the corners of the house, leak…
Jasmine Cooray ‘Garam Aandey’ by Aisha Hassan – Primers Shortlist 2017
Those ancient cobbles hum with heat long after sundown the shrill cry of the boy with the thermos full of hard boiled eggs for sale the donkey pulling the cart of bananas – refusing to move as the doodh wallah on his bike delivers the milk door to door And here is rain that is…
Aisha Hassan ‘Old Town’ by Imogen Forster – Primers Shortlist 2017
The churches wear black hoods and on the inebriated street bars shine, all glass and varnish. Voices talk beer and whisky. A boy kicks a bottle down the stank, pigeons sip daintily in the grooves between worn granite setts. The hunchbacked street is an arête, a dry fishbone. Closes fall away from its spine, swallowing…
Imogen Forster ‘The May-Tree’ by Yvonne Reddick – Primers Shortlist 2017
Your embrace was the Shelter Stone when the ferns began ____________________to unscroll their questions. You planted a may-tree, and said the whitethorn could not match the bloom in my cheeks. By summer, you swore you’d carry me from Edale to Kielder, to show me the dens of lynx. My vows were the Ring of Steall….
Yvonne Reddick ‘The House’ by Aviva Dautch – Primers Shortlist 2017
Aviva Dautch is on the ten-person shortlist for Primers Volume III. ‘The House’ is from her shortlisted manuscript When The World Was Rotting. We’ll be showcasing the work of all the shortlisted writers over the next two weeks, so check back to read more poems. Aviva Dautch teaches at the British Library and Bethlem Museum of the Mind (the…
Aviva Dautch ‘Second-hand’ by L Kiew – Primers Shortlist 2017
___(Penang, 1932) _________(i) Lao ma believes the dead cling to their possessions. My dress is red shantung; its last occupant is heart-broken and tugging on my hem as I step onto the polished floor. My partner is her ex- husband. He holds me out at arms’ length, cold and stiff. I waltz around, around. When…
L Kiew
Primers Volume 3 Shortlist and Longlist Announced!
The Poetry School and Nine Arches Press are delighted to announce the shortlist and longlist for Primers Volume 3, a mentoring and publication scheme. After reading thousands of poems, judges Hannah Lowe and Jane Commane have selected ten manuscripts for the shortlist and nineteen manuscripts for the longlist. We’ll be publishing poems by all of…
Poetry School Primers Volume 3: A Mentoring and Publication scheme – Now Open for Entries
The Poetry School and Nine Arches Press are delighted to announce the arrival of Primers 3, the third year of our scheme which creates a unique opportunity for talented poets to find publication and receive a programme of supportive feedback, mentoring and promotion. The scheme will select three poets whose work will feature together in…
Andrew Parkes (Poetry School)
Primers Vol 2 London Launch – 20 June
We’re incredibly excited to be holding a London launch for our Primers Vol. 2 poets to celebrate their work and the publication of the book by Nine Arches Press. We’d love for you to join us at Waterstones Piccadilly on Tuesday 20 June from 7pm, where the three poets Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller and Marvin Thompson will be reading from their work….
James Trevelyan (Poetry School) Primers II Poets Announced!
The manuscripts are dog-eared and the Judges dog-tired, but we are now delighted to be able to make the final announcement in our second Primers publishing and mentoring scheme. The three writers who we are going to take forward to publication in April are … Ben Bransfield Cynthia Miller Marvin Thompson Jane Commane, the judge and…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist – Samuel Prince
Just in time for the judges’ final decision, we reach the final of our showcases of the Primers II shortlist. This is a great chance to read once again poems from Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller, Emma Jeremy, Marjorie Lofti Gill, Marvin Thompson, Matthew Dixon, Michelle Penn, Miranda Peake & Paul Adrian to see just how hard Jane and Jacob’s choice is. The final poet we are celebrating…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist: Michelle Penn
We’re continuing to give you a sneak peek into the poets shortlisted for this year’s Primers programme of mentoring and publication, which we are running in collaboration with Nine Arches Press. Editor Jane Commane & poet Jacob Sam-La Rose are nearing their decision about who will make the final three, and we’re getting you involved…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist: Matthew Dixon
Welcome to this showcase of a poet shortlisted for Primers II. For fraction fans, this makes us 6/10 of the way through our list of shortlisted poets, and 3/5 of the way through those poets whose name begin with ‘M’ – poetic symmetry! Poems from both Marjorie and Marvin have already been showcased on CAMPUS…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist – Paul Adrian
Welcome to our penultimate peek into the poetry of our Primers II candidates. As the judges’ final decision gets ever closer, we’ve been showcasing a poem from each poet on the shortlist – you can already read work from Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller, Emma Jeremy, Marjorie Lofti Gill, Marvin Thompson, Matthew Dixon, Michelle Penn & Miranda Peake. And next up, it’s a pleasure…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist – Miranda Peake
We’re delighted to be able to show you a poem from each of our ten brilliant shortlisted poets for the second Primers programme, run in association with Nine Arches Press. So far, we’ve posted work by Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller, Emma Jeremy, Marjorie Lofti Gill, Marvin Thompson, Matthew Dixon & Michelle Penn so do have a read of their work by following the links! But today’s…
Poetry School Primers II Shortlist: Marvin Thompson
We’ve reached the half-way point of our look at the ten poets shortlisted for Primers Volume II. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the work of Ben Bransfield, Cynthia Miller, Emma Jeremy & Marjorie Lofti Gill so far and we are delighted to introduce you to the work of another poet now. Judges Jane Commane and Jacob Sam-La Rose are currently considering…
Poetry School