With 80% of young people saying their mental health is worse because of the pandemic, we all need to find ways to be kinder to ourselves. As part of her new campaign #WriteThroughThis, Young People’s Laureate for London Cecilia Knapp offers some tips on how to have fun and (re-)discover the magic of writing, even […]

Foyle Young Poet Libby Russell explores what we gain when we read queer poets. Maybe I’m biased, but I think poetry is the perfect medium to explore, understand and celebrate queerness. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick said the word ‘queer’ could refer to ‘the open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances and resonances, lapses and excesses of […]

February is LGBT+ History Month, so we asked some recent Foyle Young Poets to share their LGBT+ poet-heroes. Dive in! Paul Verlaine (1844 – 1896, France) Nadia Lines writes: French poet Paul Verlaine isn’t so much of a hero, but really a slow-motion train wreck of a person. He was a late nineteenth century French […]

We reflect on the recent global attention on one young poet: Amanda Gorman. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped. That even as we tired, we tried. Since the inauguration of President Biden earlier this week, everyone has […]

Today we hear from two writers who have made careers in literature organisations, at times combining part-time jobs and starting their own companies! In this feature, Ed Cottrell speaks about his roles in digital content and marketing for New Writing South and Modern Poetry in Translation, while Julia Bird tells us all about how she […]

A Story About Water so there’s a scorpion and a frog—they’re trying to get across this river—the scorpion says to the frog take me—the frog says are you sure because if you sting me we’ll both drown—the scorpion says of course i’m sure—so the frog takes the scorpion and the scorpion stings the frog and […]

In our latest feature, we speak to Dhiyandra Natalegawa, current Assistant Producer for the Brent 2020 programme for London Borough of Culture. She shares the young people’s programme that got her into Art History, connecting with Indonesian art and “knowing your mountain”. What’s your current job title? Assistant Producer at London Borough of Culture Brent […]

Poet Dzifa Benson looks at the life and works of a literary giant: Imtiaz Dharker, artist, film-maker and author of seven poetry collections. Imtiaz Dharker, one of Britain’s most influential contemporary poets, believes ‘poetry tries to interpret the heartbeat of the world’. We can see this in her writing, which is compassionate, concise and infinitely […]

When you collaborate with someone else, you are embarking on an exciting adventure together. Collaboration offers the chance to be pushed in new ways, to work in new forms, and to pay attention to another discipline and someone else’s obsessions. Working with other people might even lead to a shift in your personal practice and […]

Using Lorde’s own words, poet and film-maker Esther Heller introduces us to Audre Lorde, a self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”. Audre Lorde was a poet, essayist, Black feminist, civil-rights activist, mother, librarian, mentor, editor, publisher, cancer survivor and educator. Lorde described herself as a “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”: knowing her identity was important […]