“Revisit The Classics” with Winchester Poetry Festival until 12th October throughout the city and online. Winchester Poetry Festival 2025 burst into action on National Poetry Day (Thurs 2nd Oct) with fringe events popping up around the city, and online workshops that everyone can enjoy. The well-versed and poetry-curious are...
Poetry
Placeholder Poetry returns to Southampton with Elvire Roberts, Verity Spott & Christina Thatcher
Placeholder is home for poetry readings of the avant-garde, challenging, queer and radical. Following the success of this poetry reading series in Brighton. This special format is thriving in Southampton – presented in collaboration with Wire Wool Events. The next event will be at The Bookshop Alehouse in Southampton...
Winchester Poetry Festival “Revisits the Classics” for 2025 flagship event
Winchester Poetry Festival invites readers, writers, poetry-lovers and the poetry-curious to join them to explore fresh approaches to the canon at Winchester Poetry Festival 2025. The dynamic programme for Winchester Poetry Festival 2025 launched on Mon 30 June to a room bursting with poets, funders and supporters at The...
Can I Have A Word? offers a new stage for Spoken Word Poetry
By Anita Foxall. Can I Have A Word? is offering a new stage for Spoken Word Poetry. How the idea came along The inspiration for Can I Have A Word?, a new poetry open mic night, came from Chris Grayston, owner of The Attic in Totton. Known for its thriving...
Review: Same Coin: A Spoken Word Double Header – Hunter Gatherer, Southsea
By Joy McKay. I was invited to attend a new show by local poets Rich Lansley and Jackson Davies recently (15/5). I’d seen Rich perform before and so had some idea of what was in store for the evening and took along a friend who had no idea and,...
Poetry: Southampton poets Anita Foxall and Chris Davie
By Anita Foxall. It’s time to bring you more poets and poetry, and on this occasion, I’ll be sharing some of my own work as well. Writing has always been a part of me. I first immersed myself in the depths of short stories, only to find, almost unknowingly,...
Winchester Poetry Festival opens its globally recognised Winchester Poetry Prize for the tenth year
Since 2016 poets from far and wide have submitted their best, unpublished poems into Winchester Poetry Prize competition to be in with a chance of winning the prestigious top prizes and publication in a printed anthology. The first prize is £1000, second prize is £500 and third prize is...
Hidden Gems Hampshire
By Anita Foxall. It never ceases to amaze me when I meet incredible and talented people at the various spoken word events I attend. They are undoubtedly spaces for continuous inspiration. I met Stevina Southwell at one of those events, and after a joyous chat about poetry and...
Hampshire Young Poets Competition returns for 2025 with the theme Friendship
Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Cultural Trust are working together once more to encourage young people in Hampshire to express themselves through poetry, in the Hampshire Young Poets Competition 2025. This year’s theme is ‘Friendship’ and young people from across Hampshire are asked to write a poem of no...
Poetry: focus on Southampton poets Srishti Agarwal and David Spencer
By Anita Foxall. The Southampton spoken word scene continues to be buzzing with fresh talent. These two poets have brought their unique voices and captivating performances to Write a Note recently, and now share a little of their work here with you. Srishti Agarwal Srishti Agarwal is of...