The Poetry Society – Connecting you to the transformative power of poetry Skip to content   Main Menu Home Competitions Membership Join us Gift membership Member news Stanzas Members’ poetry competitions Services for writers Institutional subscriptions Publications The Poetry Review Poetry News Books & Anthologies Activities Current Activities Past Projects Education Schools Young Poets The Poetry Café What’s On Connecting you to the transformative power of poetry More... News About Search Donate Shop Members’ Area Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2025 Closes 31st July! Judged by Colette Bryce and Will Harris News Events Workshops Utopia in Verse A poem commissioned for Milton Keynes International Festival in partnership… Young Critics Scheme 2025: 18-25 year olds invited to apply The Poetry Society and the T. S. Eliot Prize are delighted to open… Forward Prizes for Poetry announce 2025 shortlists   Renowned for championing poetry at its most innovative, with… View more... Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 287380 [post_author] => 20250 [post_date] => 2025-05-23 16:17:21 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-05-23 15:17:21 [post_content] => We are experiencing issues with our booking system on some browsers. If you are unable to book on this page, please try another browser or device or email [email protected] to book. Join us on Zoom for our online <em>Poetry Review</em> reading group. Dive into the Summer 2025 issue of the <em>Review </em>with fellow poetry enthusiasts and explore the diverse voices and themes that shape contemporary poetry. Led by Poetry Society staff, this interactive reading group will guide you through standout pieces, spark thoughtful discussions, and provide a deeper appreciation of the issue's poems. Whether you're a seasoned poet, a curious reader, or somewhere in between, this event is a welcoming and relaxed space to connect with others over poetry. Bring your thoughts, questions, and your favourite lines from the latest issue – we can’t wait to hear what speaks to you! If you aren't a member and do not have a copy of the Summer 2025 issue of <em>The Poetry Review</em>, we're offering a deal to receive a ticket and a copy of the <em>Review</em> together for just £12.95 inclusive of shipping - a saving of £5.85. Select this ticket option and we'll post your <em>Review</em> out to you as soon as we can. You're equally welcome to come along without having read the magazine in advance and just join the discussion on the day. Please note we also have an in-person reading group for this issue available. [post_title] => Online Poetry Review Reading Group: Summer [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => online-poetry-review-reading-group-summer-25 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-05-29 15:15:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-05-29 14:15:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://poetrysociety.org.uk/?post_type=tribe_events&p=287380 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => tribe_events [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 287375 [post_author] => 20250 [post_date] => 2025-05-23 16:08:24 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-05-23 15:08:24 [post_content] => We are experiencing issues with our booking system on some browsers. If you are unable to book on this page, please try another browser or device or or email [email protected] to book. Join us at The Poetry Café for our in-person <em>Poetry Review</em> reading group. Dive into the Summer 2025 issue of the <em>Review </em>with fellow poetry enthusiasts and explore the diverse voices and themes that shape contemporary poetry. Led by Poetry Society staff, this interactive reading group will guide you through standout pieces, spark thoughtful discussions, and provide a deeper appreciation of the issue's poems. Whether you're a seasoned poet, a curious reader, or somewhere in between, this event is a welcoming and relaxed space to connect with others over poetry. Bring your thoughts, questions, and your favourite lines from the latest issue – we can’t wait to hear what speaks to you! If you aren't a member and do not have a copy of the Summer 2025 issue of <em>The Poetry Review</em>, we're offering a deal to receive a ticket and a copy of the <em>Review</em> together for just £12.95 inclusive of shipping - a saving of £5.85. Select this ticket option and we'll post your <em>Review</em> out to you as soon as we can, or if it's closer to the reading group date, we'll give it to you in-person. You're equally welcome to come along without having read the magazine in advance and just join the discussion on the day. Please note we also have an online reading group for this issue available. [post_title] => In-Person Poetry Review Reading Group: Summer [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => in-person-poetry-review-reading-group-summer-25 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-05-29 15:15:36 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-05-29 14:15:36 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://poetrysociety.org.uk/?post_type=tribe_events&p=287375 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => tribe_events [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 291981 [post_author] => 20231 [post_date] => 2025-07-08 10:51:23 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-08 09:51:23 [post_content] => This virtual Young Poets Takeover will feature an open mic, plus a headline slot and Q&A with Young Poets Networker <a href="https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/ilisha-thiru-purcell">Ilisha Thiru Purcell</a>, who recently published her first pamphlet. Submit a question for the Q&A <a href="https://forms.gle/tNCTbaCD2kSb8hT28">here</a>. <strong>Open mic participants will be invited to share their work for up to two minutes. Please make sure that you are definitely available to perform before you sign up for an open mic slot. </strong> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-247338 alignright" src="https://poetrysociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/YPT_1200x1200px_RGB_300dpi-800x800.png" alt="" width="800" height="800" /></strong> We are pushing young voices to the fore – so if you want to hear from the up-and-coming stars of the poetry world, come along! Anyone aged 14-25 is welcome to join, regardless of how much experience they might have with poetry.  <strong><em>If you are unable to book using this page, please email [email protected] with the subject line ‘Online Young Poets Takeover’, your date of birth, and a parent or guardian’s email address if you are aged 13-17.</em></strong> [post_title] => Young Poets Takeover: online open mic for 14-25s [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => young-poets-takeover-online-open-mic-for-14-25s-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-07-08 16:19:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-08 15:19:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://poetrysociety.org.uk/?post_type=tribe_events&p=291981 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => tribe_events [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) Online Poetry Review Reading Group: Summer We are experiencing issues with our booking system on some… In-Person Poetry Review Reading Group: Summer We are experiencing issues with our booking system on some… Young Poets Takeover: online open mic for 14-25s This virtual Young Poets Takeover will feature an open mic,… View more... Online workshop: Writing Poetry for Children with Kate Wakeling ‘I’m a spinning, winning, tripping, zipping, super-sonic ice queen: see… Workshop Recording: Writing Poetry for Children with Kate Wakeling This event is for the recording of this workshop. If… ‘What! are you here?’: Hauntings and Intertextuality with Richard Scott Might we be, in the words of T.S. Eliot, the… National Poetry Competition 2025 now open Judges Denise Saul, Ian Duhig and Susannah Dickey await your entries Members Poetry Competition ‘Clearing’ Closes 1st August! Judged by Helen Farish Utopia in Verse Bioluminescent poetry at Milton Keynes Poetry Festival 24th & 25th July Featured Poem This poem won third prize in the National Poetry Competition 2024. More poetry » Heaven Downby Sorrel Briggs I couldn’t go through thatagain, I said – then went through itthree more times. Meanwhile snowkept falling out of rhythm, another dawnswept heads of dream, forsythiabloomed and fell and I was at a lossfor what to make of it. The worldis abundance, you told me once,your mouth fullof apple blossom. And I was wrong thenthough I didn’t know it yetto have looked around and wondered,an abundance of what. Whathappened? Between the lineand the adrenaline, our risksand asterisks, tell mewhich makeshift worldwas not dislodged. And how againis it spring,you remember spring –its daffodils and magnoliastipped to cup the sun though yesthey look tired this yearand who knows how many morethey’ve got? Like them, I’ve stopped askingfor the beauty in the sadness; it’ll have to bethe beauty, point-blank. The sequelwhere all mothers return from long walks,where our laughter’s more than incidentalto our terror. Where the stars exist –not despite the night, notbecause – just as they are,the stars, the darkness: heavendown to its last astonisheddrop. The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 to promote “a more general recognition and appreciation of poetry”.  Since then, it has grown into one of Britain’s most dynamic arts organisations, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally.  Today it has more than 5,000 members worldwide and publishes The Poetry Review. With innovative education and commissioning programmes and a packed calendar of performances, readings and competitions, The Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. More about the Poetry Society… Search About FAQ Poems Feedback Services Terms and conditions Contact us Accessibility Support us Newsletter © 1909 - 2025 The Poetry Society and respective creators • Site by Surface Impression By using this website you imply consent to its use of cookies. More information about cookies. 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