Archive

Poems of witness

Emma Simon reviews The Underlook by Helen Seymour (Smith|Doorstop, 2021) and The Thoughts by Sarah Barnsley (Smith|Doorstop, 2021)

Castaway Companions

Castaway poet Sarah Wimbush chooses poems by Ted Hughes, Liz Berry and Paul Bentley to take to a desert island

He turns to her, she turns to him

Annie Fisher reviews Pearls: the complete Mr and Mrs Philpott poems by Helena Nelson (HappenStance, 2022)

Finding the source

Tom Sastry writes about politics, connection and what poetry is for

by Jane Burn — try harder lose weight skim the weight from your clumsy bones / make a bit more of an effort get fit this is a new start forget / all the empty promises grow your hair vow yourself amazing

Observation

by Nicola Sealey — ‘I like a look of Agony, / Because I know it’s true — Emily Dickinson // I have noticed / when I am gripped and wrung / by agony, and manage / to catch its distilled drops // in a poem

Whichever life we live, it’s the other calls

Carl Tomlinson reviews Hotel Anonymous by Mike Barlow (Pindrop, 2021)

Considering the effects

Matthew Paul looks at poems featuring bowls by Stephen Payne, Pauline Stainer and Ted Walker

Poems for Ukraine 29/04/22

'When Yuriy Glodan Went Shopping in Odesa' by Sue Norton
and 'Cat' by Deborah Finding are our Poems for Ukraine this week

Selected Ambient Works

Bruno Cooke reviews You've got so many machines, Richard: an anthology of Aphex Twin poetry, edited by Rishi Dastidar and Aaron Kent (Broken Sleep, 2022)

The Competition Poem

Is there such a thing as the competition poem? And, if there is, how do you write it? The Frip talks to Ian Duhig, Helena Nelson and Christopher James to find out

Elephants

by Lorna Dowell — at heart we’re all elephants / compelled to cluster over the bones / of our lost kind we’re all kin / when it comes to grieving / though some choose to forget /
how we fall silent / when crying