Blog
Welcome to our blog where you can catch up with the latest news and read guest posts by our writers.
January 8, 2019
Gen: An Interview with Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards’ debut collection, My Family and Other Superheroes, was a triumph: shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and winner of the Costa Poetry Award 2014. Jonathan now returns with his wonderful second collection, Gen….
January 4, 2019
Friday Poem – ‘Telling the bees’, Katherine Stansfield
This week our Friday Poem is a new work by Katherine Stansfield, ‘Telling the bees’. ‘Telling the bees’ is a touching memorial to Christian Brown OBE, co-founder of the Seren Cornerstone Poetry Festival. The poem weaves together memories with the ima…
December 21, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Fieldfare in the Snow’, Nicola Healey
For this week’s Friday Poem we have the wonderfully festive ‘Fieldfare in the Snow’ by Nicola Healey. ‘Fieldfare in the Snow’ is the winner of this year’s Christmas Poetry Competition. The poem stood out from the other entries with its “beautifully o…
December 7, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘December’, Paul Deaton
Our Friday Poem this week, as we enter the final month of 2018, is ‘December’ by Paul Deaton. ‘December’ is taken from Paul Deaton’s Poetry Book Society-recommended debut, A Watchful Astronomy. Deaton is a realist and a formalist, preferring simple,…
November 30, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Clean’, Elizabeth Parker
Our Friday Poem this week is ‘Clean’ by Elizabeth Parker, from her debut collection, In Her Shambles. Parker’s first full collection of poems, In Her Shambles, showcases her style with poems that are verb-rich, observational and uncanny portraits of…
November 27, 2018
The Winner of the Seren Christmas Poetry Competition 2018 is…
We received a huge number of excellently crafted poems for this year’s Christmas Poetry Competition, and it was a difficult task for our judge, Amy Wack, to decide on a winner. In the end, Nicola Healey’s poem ‘Fieldfare in the Snow’ stood out with i…
November 23, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘Reader’, Robert Walton
It’s a dark day – some might say black – and so our Friday Poem is one that celebrates the simple joys of reading and speech. We hope you find the time to experience them for yourself today. ‘Reader’ by Robert Walton is taken from his latest collecti…
November 16, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘The Post Box in the Wall’, Judy Brown
Our Friday Poem this week is ‘The Post Box in the Wall’ from Crowd Sensations by Judy Brown. Crowd Sensations is Judy’s latest collection, and was shortlisted for the Ledbury Forte Prize. Judy is a poet of dazzling contrasts, of thoughtful paradox, i…
November 11, 2018
100 Years On: Newport RFC and the Great War
Today, November 11th 2018, marks the centenary of the Armistice and the ending of the Great War. In commemoration, author and historian Mike Rees looks at the sacrifices made by rugby players from his home town of Newport, revealing details about the…
November 10, 2018
Peter Jones: on editing my father’s letters
In Dear Mona: Letters from a Conscientious Objector, we are given a window into the life of Jonah Jones through private letters to his close friend and mentor, Mona Lovell. We see his character evolve as he nurtures his love of art and sculpture, and…
November 9, 2018
Friday Poem – ‘How Women Are Not The Same’, Rhiannon Hooson
Our Friday Poem this week is Rhiannon Hooson’s ‘How Women Are Not The Same’, from her debut poetry collection, The Other City. ‘Hooson’s style is thoughtful, questioning, reflective, and consistently restrained. Her collection gives the impression of…
November 5, 2018
Siobhán Campbell shortlisted for Voices of War poetry competition
To commemorate the centenary of the ending of the First World War, and to honour all those affected by violent conflict anywhere in the world, University College Dublin held the Voices of War international poetry competition for the best original poe…
