You are the player. Wake up.Inigo Brodie on the story behind the Minecraft End Poem, and how sometimes poetry is the only optionEnder Dragon Image: Mojang/Microsoft SEQUINS NOWIsabelle Thompson reviews Dirty Martini by Natalie Shaw (Broken Sleep Books, 2023) Blown like glass into brittle intricaciesHilary Menos reviews Slide by Mark Pajak (Cape, 2022) Choose a poem, learn it by heart, share it out loudJulie Blake, co-founder of Poetry By Heart, talks about the benefits of learning poetry, the joys of performance, and the Poetry By Heart national poetry speaking competitionPhotos by Sam Strickland 玫瑰, गुलाब, roseD.A. Prince reviews After all we have travelled by Sarala Estruch (Nine Arches Press, 2023) This barter of enthusiasm 5Matthew Paul, Charlotte Gann and Rory Waterman choose poems by Geoff Hattersley, Kathy Pimlott and Wendy Cope All Quite Thoroughly Dirty (Part Two)Alan Buckley continues his close reading of ‘Filling Station’ by Elizabeth Bishop (Part Two) This is for the poetsBruno Cooke says the new Forward Prize category for Best Single Poem – Performed shows that the literary establishment is finally starting to take an interest in Spoken Word Poetry Monsoon night-songSteven Lovatt reviews Mother of Flip-Flops by Mukahang Limbu (Out-Spoken Press, 2022) All Quite Thoroughly DirtyAlan Buckley looks at ‘Filling Station’ by Elizabeth Bishop (Part One) There are some things that can’t be washed away Tim Murphy reviews Sing Me Down from the Dark by Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana (Salt, 2022) Images of aftermath Mat Riches reviews Exposed Staircase by Will Eaves (Rack Press, 2022)
