The Friday Poem

A poem every Friday

New Frip

Watercolour-style illustration showing an olive branch with a goat standing on a leaf on the left and a man sitting on a leaf to the right.

An guish / rather than a guish

Tim Murphy reviews 54 Poems: Selected and New by John Levy (Shearsman Books, 2023)
Image showing a medicine bottle and a prescription for Poemcetemol (see what they did there).

A salve to strengthen heart and happiness

We talk to Deb Alma, poet, teacher, editor, and founder of the Poetry Pharmacy
Close up of a parchment coloured map showing Spanish place names written in italic script.

Holding on against the ebb

Christopher James reviews Whatever You Do, Just Don’t by Matthew Stewart (HappenStance, 2023)
Montage showing three book covers. They are similar – each has a black background with a number of different coloured triangles superimposed. The chaps at Ignition press like triangles, I guess. Who am I to judge?

Mixed feelings about gravity

Isabelle Thompson reviews three new pamphlets from ignitionpress
A painting on canvas showing a large yellow blob and some smaller blobs (also yellow) on a purple-blue background.

You are not a fixed star in anybody’s sky

Khadija Rouf reviews Into the Same Sound Twice by Zakia Carpenter-Hall (Seren, 2023)
The blue violinist by Marc Chagall showing aviolinist dressed in blue:green on a blue background. His cheeks are red and he has a white bird on his shoulder.

Writing this warring world

Jeremy Wikeley reviews Vevel’s Violin by Jacqueline Saphra (Nine Arches Press, 2023)
Section from a book cover. The background is purple and some block capital letters in pink , yellow, green and white are arranged in a uniform block pattern.

Time to swim

Richie McCaffery reviews Hard Drive by Paul Stephenson (Carcanet, 2023)
A composite image of three brightly coloured children's poetry book covers.

Danger leaps from off the page

Annie Fisher looks at some of the best new poetry collections for children
Part of the cover of the first edition of 'The Hunting of the Snark'. It shows a bearded fellow sitting halfway up a mast ringing a bell. It's a bit windy.

Nine tradesmen and a beaver

Edward Wakeling introduces 'The Hunting of the Snark' by Lewis Carroll
Castaway Companions

Castaway Companions

Castaway Poet Roy Marshall chooses poems by David Jones, Paul Batchelor and John Donne
Old black and white picture of Billy Childish and Tracey Erin from the back cover of Childish's Zine 'Prity Thing'.

But is it art? 

Rowan Bell on the art of Tracey Emin and the poetry of Billy Childish
Hares cunningly disguised as squiggles. On a grey background.

The story of herself

Hilary Menos reviews nine by David Harsent (Guillemot Press, 2023)