poetry

Reading poetry, the task of a reader is in part to situate the poet – where they are in a poem is often as telling as who they are. In Declan Ryan’s adroit debut, Crisis Actor, he lets us know, from the title itself, that we should not feel certain of his whereabouts.A crisis actor (I had to look it up) is someone who “takes part in a supposed conspiracy to manipulate public opinion” and pretends to have survived a disaster. Ryan is, it would seem, mindful of the possibility of being a poetic impostor – someone who…

Dear BirdA dead bird in the snow is not how I wishto begin this walk, yet there it is, feathersall bloodied and frozen to the ground,giving flight to cause and effect, the mindtrampled by where it has gone before,an image faithfully lodged, falling alongsandy shores and leafy trails, in the chaosof a lonely night, dear bird might you shareyour name, must I nurse you till the end,patch you with experience, pitch storylinesto your wound, killed by man killed by animal,the reflection of a tree, well, you seem to bethriving,…

For the first time, an outstanding performance of a poem will be celebrated with a dedicated award as part of the Forward prizes for poetry.The shortlists for the 2023 prizes, announced today, feature categories for the best collection, debut collection and single written poem along with the new award for best performed poem.Quick GuideThe Forward prizes for poetry shortlists 2023ShowBest CollectionSelf Portrait as Othello by Jason Allen-PaisantBright Fear by Mary Jean ChanA Change in the Air by Jane ClarkeThe Ink Cloud…

“Rise like Lions after slumberIn unvanquishable number-Shake your chains to earth like dewWhich in sleep had fallen on youYe are many – they are few.”It’s not the first time Jeremy Corbyn has quoted verse XXXVIII of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Masque of Anarchy. He recited it on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 2017 in those innocent days when singing “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” to the tune of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army was popular and Boris Johnson had never presented his prime ministerial credentials to the Queen.…

A poem in Lan Duong’s new book, “Nothing Follows,” describes a scene you would not see in any Hollywood movie about the Vietnam War and its aftermath. It’s the early 1980s and the San Jose-reared author, then a young girl, accompanies her father, a former lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese army, to the main public library on East Fernando Street. Duong is expected to read while her father finds other men to challenge in games of chess. That’s his way of decompressing. Once from a privileged class, her father works…

Earlier this year, one of the country’s most-lauded poetry magazines announced on Twitter it was in trouble. Having been a stalwart of the scene for a decade, Butcher’s Dog was facing a cash shortfall that threatened to close it.Editor Jo Clement shared the news “with a heavy heart” and appealed to the poetry community for help. “People rallied round and, in just five days, we were able to sell enough magazines to cover print costs for our next two issues,” says the Newcastle-based writer and academic. “It was a huge…

A poetry collection edited by Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey will be published in November, and will contain contributions from Russell Brand, Maxine Peake and Michael Rosen.Poetry for the Many will feature the favourite poems of the former Labour leader and the trade unionist, along with their commentary.. The pair’s picks range from Shakespeare, William Blake and Maya Angelou to the Mexican nun Juana Inés de la Cruz.Poetry for the Many, edited by Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey. Photograph: OR Books“This book grew out…

The ProvinceThe figureof tallwhite grassby the cinder-bankkeeps its alignmentfaultlessly.Moves!in the brilliantchannelsof the windShines!its polishedshafts and featheredfrondsensconced therecolorlessbeyond all feelingThis isthe principleof the godly,fluted, astatuetall and pale— lifelesssave only inbeauty,the kernelof all seeking,the eternalWilliam Carlos Williams (1883-1963) writes with an intriguing combination of physicality and abstraction in The Province. From his 1948 collection, The Clouds, Aigeltinger, Russia, it…

Poetry at Sangam has shut down. P@S will now function as an archive carrying its previously published poems by over 250 poets, some audio recordings of poems, essays on poetics and translators’/curatorial notes. Founding editor Priya Sarukkai Chabria and deputy editor Mrinalini Harchandrai spoke about the life of the e-platform, sustaining and securing funding for a literary publication, their editorial and curatorial process, about the focus of the journal and why it is now winding up. PREMIUM Priya Sarukkai…

Majella Kelly has found a subject to suit her voice – and what a voice it is, charged with images of Ireland that transport you there for better or worse, in sickness and in health, and in deepest trouble. The subject that dominates this not-to-be-missed debut is the discovery of an infant mass grave in Tuam, County Galway, the existence of which was only officially acknowledged in 2017. The wretched tale is that from 1925-1961, “fallen women” were sent to the inappropriately named Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, run by…