Category: Poetry

World Book Night 2024 – In Praise of Birds

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A copy of Naomi Shihab Nye's poem 'The Sweet Arab, the Gentle Arab' next to a copy of Picasso's dove of peace which is flying across swirls of red, black, white and green as a representation of the Palestinian flag.

My thanks to artist, writer and publisher Jeremy Dixon for sharing the open callout from WBN2024 and WBN United Artists for a postcard exhibition organised by Sarah Bodman and Linda Parr at The Centre for Print Research, University of the West of England (UWE). The theme for WBN2024 is In Praise of Birds. WBN United… Continue reading World Book Night 2024 – In Praise of Birds

Three poems from books in my TBR pile

Josephine Corcoran7 Comments
Covers of 'Dear Rwanda' by Isabella Mead, 'Remembering my Father' by Jill Abram, and 'Beyond the Gate' by Clare Best

I haven’t kept up with the Sealey Challenge but it has prompted me to read more poems from my TO BE READ pile, including this one, ‘Late fig’ by Clare Best from her collection, Beyond the Gate (Worple Press, 2023). It’s a concrete poem but there’s no concrete here, it’s all fig, a mid-winter gift… Continue reading Three poems from books in my TBR pile

Two poems from ‘Love and Stones’ at New Writing (UEA)

Josephine Corcoran3 Comments
Over the Town by Marc Chagall. Two people holding onto each other and flying over a town.

I have two poems from my new chapbook Love and Stones on New Writing, an online project showcasing new writing from alumni, staff and students from the University of East Anglia (where I completed my MA in Creative Writing in 1997). I'd recommend that you read the poems on a laptop or similar, if possible,… Continue reading Two poems from ‘Love and Stones’ at New Writing (UEA)

Poem of the Day at the National Poetry Library, UK.

Josephine Corcoran6 Comments
The image is of four dried-out sweet william plants, parched of all colour because of hot weather and no rain, laid out on a white page in four lines as if four lines of a poem. At the top of the page, handwriting in blue ink reads 'poem with no rhyme or rain'.

One of my visual poems, an ecopoem called 'poem with no rhyme or rain', was selected as a joint winner in a competition for Instagram poems on the theme of 'the environment' - which was the theme for National Poetry Day (UK) this year - run by the National Poetry Library. It was also chosen… Continue reading Poem of the Day at the National Poetry Library, UK.

National Poetry Day (UK) 2022

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The image is of fallen leaves, flowers and berries from the garden, arranged in three lines as if a haiku, with seven, five, seven items on each line. The text reads 'Autumn Haiku, National Poetry Day 2022'.

This year the theme for NPD is 'The Environment'. Here's a visual poem I made today, using fallen leaves, flowers and berries from the garden. Visual Poem by Josephine Corcoran I've made more visual poems like this and posted them on Instagram @andothermaterial and I also blogged about making visual poems with flowers here. Happy… Continue reading National Poetry Day (UK) 2022

Ukrainian and Russian Poetry at MPT magazine

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On this World Poetry Day, 2022 I wanted to mention that the wonderful Modern Poetry in Translation magazine has made its 2017 issue featuring contemporary poetry and essays from Russian and Ukrainian poets available free to read online - here's the link to the issue on MPT's website. Published in 2017, here's the opening paragraph… Continue reading Ukrainian and Russian Poetry at MPT magazine

Poems in response to drawings

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I've already shared the following poem excerpts on Instagram and Facebook. They are lines from poems-in-progress written by members of Trowbridge Stanza, the monthly poetry group I'm part of that meets at Drawing Projects UK, a gallery, café, studio and art space in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Our group met in person in February, for the first… Continue reading Poems in response to drawings

Judges announced for Sarah Maguire Prize 2022

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 Following the success of the inaugural Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation, the Poetry  Translation Centre is delighted to welcome an esteemed line up of judges for the 2022 prize.   The panel will be chaired by Rosalind Harvey, a critically acclaimed translator who co-founded the  Emerging Translators Network. She is joined by the poet,… Continue reading Judges announced for Sarah Maguire Prize 2022

Live Canon Poetry Prize Book Launch and Readings

Josephine Corcoran2 Comments

I'm pleased to say that my poem 'A Baby Speaks on his Birthday in an Autumn Garden, 2020' has reached the shortlist in this year's Live Canon Poetry Prize and will be performed at the anthology book launch and prize ceremony, along with all shortlisted poems, online on Tuesday, 19 October, 20:00 – 21:30 BST.… Continue reading Live Canon Poetry Prize Book Launch and Readings

My review of a new selection of poems by Abdellatif Laâbi

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The image is of a hand holding a book. The book is 'My Mother's Language'/ 'La langue de ma mere' by Abdellatif Laabi, translated by Andre Naffis-Sahely

My review of My Mother’s Language/La langue de ma mère by Abdellatif Laâbi, translated and introduced by André Naffis-Sahely (Poetry Translation Centre, 2021), is online at MPT magazine. This is a generous selection of poems (in a neat, pocket-sized French/English edition - perfect to carry with me on a recent train journey) from a poet widely… Continue reading My review of a new selection of poems by Abdellatif Laâbi