Archive - The Friday Poem

Punk Poetry – bitten the dust or alive and well?

Hilary Menos looks back at the poets who embodied the spirit of punk in the 1970s and 80s and asks where is the punk spirit today?

7 hrs ago • The Friday Poem

What are poets really after?

Helena Nelson considers the pros and cons of the ‘after’ epigraph, poetry’s exclusive codes, and the necessary art of bluffing.

Aug 7 • The Friday Poem

July 2026

What’s lost and found and lost again

Annie Fisher review 'Forgetfulness' by Ian Seed (Shearsman, 2026).

Jul 31 • The Friday Poem

These moments which may seem ordinary are the most precious

Khadija Rouf reviews 'The Age of Olive Trees' by Haia Mohammed (Out-Spoken Press, 2025)

Jul 24 • The Friday Poem

Qualified people are here to do the heavy lifting

Three Friday Poems from our Archive for you, from Kate Hendry, Natalie Shaw and Matthew Paul.

Jul 17 • The Friday Poem

Dancing inside a carnival of language

John Agard has won the CLiPPA (Centre for Literary in Primary Education Poetry Award) for the third time. Annie Fisher and Hilary Menos say…

Jul 10 • The Friday Poem

The song of all the seas

Annie Fisher and Hilary Menos discuss the five shortlisted books for the 2026 CLiPPA prize for children’s poetry.

Jul 3 • The Friday Poem

June 2026

One kid looking on in wonder

Matthew Stewart explores Ben Wilkinson’s poetic development and looks at his new collection, 'Same Difference' (Seren, 2022)

Jun 27 • The Friday Poem

The outsider who writes from within

Matthew Stewart examines the work of Michael Laskey

Jun 27 • The Friday Poem

A single umbrella is enough to start a revolution

Matthew Stewart reviews 'The Storm in the Piano' by Christopher James (Maytree Press, 2022)

Jun 27 • The Friday Poem

Hydra heads of rebellions

Matthew Stewart reviews 'The Kentish Rebellion' by Robert Selby (Shoestring, 2022)

Jun 27 • The Friday Poem

Surprised to find itself rainbow

Jane Routh reviews 'Plymbridge' by Anthony Wilson (Worple Press, 2026)

Jun 26 • The Friday Poem

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