A workshop series for experimental poetry, open to all.
Innovative Poetry Readings in London
Writers Forum Workshop is pleased to host this listing of readings, exhibitions, performances, discussions, workshops and courses taking place on London’s innovative poetry scenes.
If you write innovative poetry and would like to share it with an interested audience, please consider attending Writers Forum Workshop’s London or virtual meetings.
See the bottom of the page for an FAQ, including how to get your own event listed here.
Key for colour coding:
Blue: In-person event.
Pink: Online event featuring London-based poets or organisations.
Green: In-person event in London, with simultaneous online broadcast.
Ongoing Exhibitions and Shows
Until Fri 6 February, Mon-Fri 1pm-4pm.
Laundry Day: Exhibition of works by poet and textile artist Dee Light.
Constance Howard Gallery, Deptford Town Hall, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross Road, New Cross SE14 6NW.
Free, no booking required.
Until Sat 28 February. Viewable in the hour before and half-hour after scheduled events at the venue, or at the private view on Sat 7 February, 7pm-8.30pm.
Claude Cahun Festival: Exhibition of prints and photomontage by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
Tina Gallery, First Floor, 191 Wardour Street, Soho W1F 8ZE.
Free, no booking required.
February 2026
Thursday 5 February
Doors 6.30pm, event 7pm.
The London Library Emerging Writers Programme Showcase: Readings and discussion with authors from the venue’s Emerging Writers Programme, featuring poets Gayathiri Kamalakanthan and Olive Franklin, children’s author William Yamaguchi Dobson, non-fiction writer Marina Gerner, playwright Will Lord and novelist Lisa Smith.
The London Library, 14 St James’s Square, St James’s SW1Y 4LG.
£5, bookable.
7pm.
Launch: Homography: Nathan Evans reads to launch the poetry collection Homography. Plus more poetry from Ellen McAteer and Piero Toto, and music from Kate Conway and Zia Moranne.
The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.
Free, bookable.
7pm.
Presencia & Resistencia: Wasafiri 124 Launch Party: Launch for the new issue of Wasafiri magazine, focusing on British Latinx writing and art. Featuring poetry from Elida Silvey and Las Juanas, writer Luiza Sauma, musician Liliana A Romero, artists James Kent and Liliana A Romero, dance from Baila Peru, Constantina Higbee and the Comunidad Rimanakuy, and scholars Nathalie Teitler and Javier Perez Osorio.
Reference Point, 2 Arundel Street, Temple WC2R 3DA.
From Here to There: Readings and discussion focusing on migration and (im)mobility, with poets from Exiled Writers Ink and the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series. Featuring Jim Aitken, Afsaneh Gitiforouz, Samuel Julius Habakkuk Kargbo, Nada Menzalji, Karuna Mistry, Ambrose Musiyiwa, Xaviera Ringeling and Samantha Rumbidzai Vazhure.
Online, via Zoom for Exiled Writers Ink.
Free, booking required.
Friday 6 February
6pm-8pm.
Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore: ‘Coming Alive’: Sarah Pucill leads a workshop exploring re-enactment as a method for engaging with photography, writing, and film, inspired by the venue’s exhibition of prints and photomontage by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
£12, booking required.
6pm.
In Conversation with Roz Kaveney: Poet Roz Kaveney discusses her writing about science fiction, pop culture and transgender life.
Peckham Library, 122 Peckham Hill Street, Peckham SE15 5JR.
Queer Noise X Laundry Day: Poetry and music celebrating the work of the late poet and textile artist Dee Light. Featuring poets Lalah-Simone Springer and Cora Dessalines, and musician Tall Child.
Deptford Town Hall, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross Road, New Cross SE14 6NW.
£5/free, bookable.
8.15pm.
Shirin: Screening of Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami’s 2008 experimental adaptation of Nezami Ganjavi’s twelfth-century poem Shirin.
Close-Up Film Centre, 97 Sclater Street, Shoreditch E1 6HR.
£12.90/£10.75, bookable.
Saturday 7 February
1.30pm-5.30pm.
Zine Making Workshop: Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck leads a workshop on creating poetic, artistic or activist zines, inspired by the venue’s garden.
Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, Hampstead NW3 6DG.
£49, booking required.
2.45pm-4.45pm.
Writers Forum Workshop: Workshop for experimental poets to share their writing. All welcome.
Modernist Experiences: Two talks about modernism: Francesca Wade, ‘On Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’, and Tymek Woodham, ‘‘Total Experience’ and its accompaniment: Nonnarrative theatre at Black Mountain College’.
Reading Cancelled Confessions: Reading group on surrealist writer and artist Claude Cahun’s book Cancelled Confessions, led by the volume’s translator Susan de Muth.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
£8, booking required.
6pm reception with readings, 6.30pm-8pm private view.
Claude Cahun Festival: Private View: Private view for an exhibition of prints and photomontage by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
Double Bubble: An Afternoon of Duos: Duo performances featuring poet Florence Uniacke collaborating with vocal artist Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, plus music from Evan Parker and Seymour Wright, Billy Steiger and Angharad Davies, and Ciaran Mackle and Conal Blake.
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin Street, Dalston E8 3DL.
£10 advance, £12 on the door.
3pm-5.30pm.
Felicity Gee: Myth, Collaboration, and Reinvention: Scholar Felicity Gee gives a talk about the venue’s exhibition of prints and photomontage by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, then leads a collage workshop exploring ideas of myth, disguise, doubling, and transformation.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
£8, booking required.
Doors 6pm, event 7pm.
Xing the Line: Experimental poetry, music and performance, featuring Adam Bohman, Ulli Freer, Paul Ingram and Gardyloo Spew, and Elizabeth Clark Wessel.
7pm-9pm, then at the same time fortnightly until Tue 24 March.
The Poetry of Mindfulness, Dreams, & Reflections: Romalyn Ante leads a four-session course on writing poetry that explores the subconscious, inspired by poets like André Breton, Alejandra Pizarnik and Natalie Linh Bolderston.
Online, via Zoom for the Poetry School.
£100, booking required.
6pm.
Poets on Film: Screenings of films with poets Anthony Anaxagorou and Marjorie Lotfi, and filmmakers Savannah Acquah and Rob Akin.
The Conduit, 6 Langley Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9JA.
Free, bookable.
Doors 6.45pm, event 7pm.
Fourteen Poems Issue 18 Launch and Reading: Jacob Davies-Lucas, Hannah Flynn, Ellora Sutton and Harper Walton read to launch the new issue of LGBTQ+ poetry magazine fourteen poems.
Second Home, 68 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields E1 5JL.
The Mirror of Masks: Bacchanalia to Contemplation Studio+: Fawzia Kane leads a four-session course on writing poetry that uses cultural masks to explore the self, inspired by poets like Wole Soyinka, Patience Agbabi and Anthony V Capildeo.
Online for the Poetry School.
£125, booking required.
6.30pm-8.30pm, then at the same time weekly until Wed 11 March.
Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Road, Hampstead NW3 6DG.
£235/£175, booking required.
Workshop 5.30pm-7.30pm, salon 8pm-10pm.
London Literary Salon: Isabella Streffen leads a workshop on writing experimentally about love, inspired by poets like Sappho, Fanny Howe and June Jordan. Followed by a gathering of the European Writers Salon.
£6 (£8 for a joint ticket with the venue’s evening reading), booking required.
6.30pm-8.30pm.
What’s Missing? Theatre Poetry: Peter Oswald leads a workshop exploring the relationship between poetry and theatre, considering works from Ted Hughes, Euripides and the Commedia dell’Arte.
The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.
£32, booking required.
6.30pm.
Book Launch: Tendrils: Ecopoetics of Community and Justice: Readings and discussion to launch Tendrils, an anthology of ecopoetic writing, featuring Kat Benedict, Chloe Elliott, Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal, Alice Willitts, Pratyusha, Jessica J Lee, Alycia Pirmohamed and Nina Mingya Powles.
Art/Lit Salon: Gertrude Stein: Francesca Wade and Lauren Elkin discuss their recent books about modernist poet Gertrude Stein.
The London Library, 14 St James’s Square, St James’s SW1Y 4LG.
£12.50/£8, bookable.
7pm.
Dance the Orange: Poets in Dialogue with Rilke: Launch event for Tanzt die Orange (Dance the Orange), an anthology of poetic responses to the work of modernist poet Rainer Maria Rilke. With German poets Jan Wagner and Norbert Hummelt, plus scholar Karen Leeder. In German and English.
Goethe-Institut, 50 Exhibition Road, South Kensington SW7 2PH.
The Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Road, Farringdon EC1R 3BL.
Free, bookable.
Doors 7pm, event 7.30pm.
Cherry Smyth: One Mountain: Sold: Poet Cherry Smyth presents a performance responding to a proposal for an environmentally devastating gold mine in County Tyrone. With vocalist Lauren Kinsella and sound artist Dan Nicholls.
Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black’s Road, Hammersmith W6 9DT.
£15/£12, bookable.
Friday 13 February
6.30pm.
Music Night: Music from the Electric Elderz, plus an open mic for poetry and music responding to the venue’s exhibition of works by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, Clapham SW4 0QW.
(£15/£10/£5) pay what you can, bookable.
Saturday 14 February
10am-12pm, then at the same time fortnightly until Sat 28 March.
This Modern Love: Elizabeth Parker leads a four-session course on writing traditional and experimental love poetry, inspired by poets like Pablo Neruda, Ilya Kaminsky and Terrance Hayes.
Online, via Zoom for the Poetry School.
£100, booking required.
1pm-3pm.
Shaded Writers Workshop: Poet PJ Samuels leads a workshop for writers from QTIBPOC (Queer, Trans, Intersex, Black, People of Colour) communities.
Clapton Library, Northwold Road, Clapton E5 8RA. Also available as an online workshop, bookable here.
Free, booking required.
2pm.
Our Community Valentine: Poet Deborah Finding and historian Tash Walker read for an alternative Valentine’s Day event.
Soho Poly, 16 Riding House Street, Fitzrovia W1W 7DT.
£8, bookable.
3pm-5.30pm.
Cahun Collection: Fashion designer Ellen Poppy Hill presents a workshop and display featuring garments from collection inspired by surrealist writer and artist Claude Cahun.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
£12 or pay what you can, bookable.
Sunday 15 February
3pm-5.30pm.
Rowan Frewin Collage Workshop: Susan de Muth presents a talk and collage workshop inspired by Rowan Frewin’s art for Inversions, the first French queer magazine, edited by surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
Polari in Heaven: Performances by LGBTQ+ writers, featuring poets John McCullough and Alice Denny, and novelists Jake Arnott and VG Lee, plus music from Son of a Tutu.
The Roasting Shed, 322 Hornsey Road, Finsbury Park N7 7HE.
£5, bookable.
7pm.
Poetry at Lala Books: Jake Wild Hall reads from his new poetry collection Alanis Morisette, and discusses the book with poet Yomi Ṣode. Plus more poetry with Kareem Parkins-Brown and Amy Acre.
Lala Books, 4a Grove Lane, Camberwell SE5 8SY.
£13.55, bookable. Sold out, waiting list available.
7pm.
Gushing to Perform: Experimental poetry and performance art, featuring LGBTQIA+ artists Deen/ø, Gaby Sahhar and Oduenyi Nwike.
Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, Hampstead NW3 6DG.
£6/£5, bookable.
7.30pm-8.30pm.
The Common Press Book Club: Reading group on Between Queer Teeth, an anthology of poetry, short stories and creative non-fiction from the queer and trans community.
Online for The Common Press.
£5, booking required.
7.30pm.
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin: Reading and discussion with Irish poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin to launch her New Selected Poems.
Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black’s Road, Hammersmith W6 9DT.
Who Is Claude Cahun?: The Play: Director David Furlong and playwright DR Hill discuss their 2025 production of the play Who Is Claude Cahun?, about surrealist writers and artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
Cixous’s Angst and Cahun’s Confessions: Sophie Lewis and Susan de Muth lead a workshop on translating experimental French writers Hélène Cixous and Claude Cahun.
Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town NW5 2RX.
£8, booking required.
Monday 23 February
Mon 23 February – Mon 23 March.
Excavation Poetics: Language as Ruin Studio: Giulia Ottavia Frattini leads a four-session course on writing poetry that uses fractures, fragments, pauses and silences, inspired by poets like Anne Carson, Etel Adnan and Joyce Mansour.
Room 137, Richard Hoggart Building, Goldsmiths University of London, Lewisham Way, New Cross SE14 6NW.
Free, no booking required.
6.30pm-8.30pm.
What’s Missing? Theatre Poetry: Peter Oswald leads a workshop exploring the relationship between poetry and theatre, considering works from Alice Oswald, Joanna Laurens and the Commedia dell’Arte.
The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.
£32, booking required.
Doors 7pm, event 7.30pm.
All Poetry Is Gay: Performances by LGBTQ+ poets, plus readings of work by queer poets from history.
The Trampery, 639 High Road, Tottenham N17 8AA.
Free, bookable.
7.30pm.
Mihály Víg + Balaton: Hungarian poet-musician Mihály Víg performs with his band Balaton.
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin Street, Dalston E8 3DL.
£25 advance, £28 on the door.
7.45pm.
Indie Night: Readings by authors from independent publishers, featuring poet Khairani Barokka and novelists Deepa Anappara, Vigdis Hjorth and Tim MacGabhann.
Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, Waterloo SE1 8XX.
From £15 plus £3.50 booking fee, bookable.
Thursday 26 February
Doors 6pm, event 7pm.
The Poetry Hour: WH Auden: Actors including Tim McInnerny read from the work of twentieth-century poet WH Auden.
British Library, 96 Euston Road, Kings Cross NW1 2DB. Also livestreamed online.
In person £15/£7.50/£6, online £15/£10/£5 (pay what you can), booking required.
The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.
£5, bookable.
Friday 27 February
4pm-6pm.
RuptureXIBIT Writing Workshop: Anna Johnson leads a workshop on writing about journeys and transformations, inspired by poets like Fiona Benson and Ovid.
RuptureXIBIT, 55 High Street, Hampton Wick KT1 4DG.
Birkbeck University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury WC1E 7HX.
£15, bookable.
12pm-4pm, drop-in.
Play Lab: Lum’a: The Shadow of Words: Workshop for children to create their own ‘light poems’, layering letters and symbols, tracing shadows and shapes and discovering how light can hold meaning through gestures, rhythm and play.
Mosaic Rooms, 226 Cromwell Road, South Kensington SW5 0SW.
Crofton Park Library, 375 Brockley Road, Crofton Park SE4 2AGY.
Free, booking required.
7.30pm.
From the Lips to the Moon: Multimedia performance by poet Tara Fatehi, musician Pouya Ehsaei and textual artist Tim Etchells.
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin Street, Dalston E8 3DL.
£14 advance, £16 on the door.
March 2026
Sunday 1 March
Doors 3pm, event 3.30pm.
A Poetry of Migration: Readings and discussion with poets of German-Jewish heritage, featuring Annie Freud, Stephen Duncan and Jennifer Langer.
Kings Place, 90 York Way, Kings Cross N1 9AG.
Free, bookable.
Monday 2 March
6pm.
Walking in Air: Composers Will Montgomery and Emmanuelle Waeckerlé discuss Walking in Air, their collaborative project combining poetry, music and fine art.
Stewart House Room 1, Senate House, Malet Street, Bloomsbury WC1E 7HU.
Free, bookable.
7.30pm.
Akira Sakata: Performances with Japanese free jazz musician Akira Sakata, in collaboration with Chinese poet-musician Yan Jun, and with artists Rie Nakajima and Yuko Shiraishi. Plus more music from O Yama O.
Queer Noise: Poetry Workshop + Open Mic: Kia Matanky-Becker and Grace Quigley lead a workshop on creating poetry by collaging texts on London’s LGBTQ+ history. Followed by poetry and music from the Queer Noise collective, and an open mic.
All Good Bookshop, 35 Turnpike Lane, Hornsey N8 0EP.
Free, booking required.
2.45pm-4.45pm.
Writers Forum Workshop: Workshop for experimental poets to share their writing. All welcome.
Fieldfare: Multimedia, one-person show combining poetry, performance art, live music, archive footage and field recordings to explore queer histories of rural Britain.
Forest Hill Library, Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill SE23 3HZ.
Free, booking required.
Doors 3pm, event 3.30pm.
A Workshop on New Jew-ish Writing: Poet Natalie Perman and writer Aleph Ross lead a creative writing workshop responding to Fridays and Saturdays, an anthology of new Jewish writing.
Kings Place, 90 York Way, Kings Cross N1 9AG.
Free, booking.
Monday 9 March
Mon 9 March – Mon 5 April.
First & Last Lines Studio: Isabelle Baafi leads a four-session course on beginning and ending poems, inspired by poets like Jericho Brown, Mahmoud Darwish and Nicole Sealey.
Online, via Zoom for the Poetry School.
£100, booking required.
Tuesday 10 March
Tue 10 – Wed 11 March, 10am.
Modernism Remodelled: Two-day conference about weirdness in literature and other artforms. The call for papers is open until Sat 31 January.
Online for the London Arts-Based Research Centre.
£195.72, booking required.
7.30pm.
Shearsman Reading: Martyn Crucefix, Jorge Valdés Díaz-Vélez and another poet TBC read to launch new poetry publications from Shearsman Books.
Room 137, Richard Hoggart Building, Goldsmiths University of London, Lewisham Way, New Cross SE14 6NW.
Free, no booking required.
7pm.
New Canons: Readings from Innovative Independent Publishers: Readings by poets and other writers from experimental presses, featuring Jen Calleja, Jess Cole, Remi Graves, Will Harris, Juliet Jacques, frank r jagoe, Francesca Reece, Oisín Roberts, Rajasree Variyar and Nadia de Vries.
The Poetry Café, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden WC2H 9BX.
Free, no booking required.
Thursday 12 March
Thu 12 March – Sun 10 January, Tue 12pm-6pm, Wed-Sun 12pm-8pm.
Poetry Buildings: Exhibition by visual poets and artists exploring the relationship between poetry and buildings.
National Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, Waterloo SE1 8XX.
Free, no booking required.
Workshop 2pm-5pm, performance 6.30pm.
Catastrophe, Inventions, Endless Abandon: Poet DS Marriott, musicologist Charissa Granger and geographers Pat Noxolo and Arun Saldanha present a workshop responding to Frantz Fanon’s call to introduce ‘invention into existence’. Followed by a performance by Marriott, Granger and poet Jay Bernard.
ArtsOne Building, Queen Mary University of London, 1 Westfield Way, Mile End E1 4PD.
Free, booking required.
Friday 13 March
7pm.
The HIV Readings: Join Simon Maddrell and Jonathan Blake read Maddrell’s poetry about HIV.
The Devereux, 20 Devereux Court, Temple WC2R 3JJ.
£11.55, bookable. All ticket proceeds go to UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership.
Saturday 14 March
1pm-3pm.
Shaded Writers Workshop: Poet PJ Samuels leads a workshop for writers from QTIBPOC (Queer, Trans, Intersex, Black, People of Colour) communities.
Clapton Library, Northwold Road, Clapton E5 8RA. Also available as an online workshop, bookable here.
Free, booking required.
Monday 16 March
Doors 6pm, event 7pm.
Iranian Women’s Voices: Conversation, poetry, film, music and protest to celebrate the new anthology Iranian Women’s Voices. With poets Marjorie Lotfi and Sana Nassari, and writer Shara Atashi.
British Library, 96 Euston Road, Kings Cross NW1 2DB.
The Common Press, 118 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch E2 6DG.
Pay what you can (£9.99 with a copy of Kamalakanthan’s book), bookable.
Saturday 28 March
Sat 28 – Sun 29 March, 9.30am.
Women Who Create: The Feminine and the Arts: Two-day conference on women’s contributions to literature and other artforms. The call for papers is open until Sun 15 February.
Online for the London Arts-Based Research Centre. Also available as an in-person event in Cambridge.
£195.72 in person, £109.05 online, booking required.
10am-11.30am.
Lewisham Writers’ Link Up: Tutku Barbaros leads a networking event for Lewisham-based writers, with a workshop on creating a collaborative poem about the borough.
Writing Chimeras: Kandace Siobhan Walker leads a workshop on blending collaboration, creative research and mixed-media art practices to create hybrid poems drawn from unexpected sources.
CRIPtic x London Writers Centre Salon: Salon for D/deaf and disabled writers. Poet Jamie Hale leads a workshop on creative exercises towards a sustainable practice for disabled writers. Followed by a reading by writer Abi Palmer, and an open mic.
Online for Deptford Literature Festival.
Free, booking required.
Sunday 29 March
12pm.
Young Barbican Takeover Festival: A day of music, workshops, performances and stalls with emerging artists, including readings by the Barbican Young Poets.
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, City of London EC2Y 8DS.
How Languages Make Us: Explorations through Performance: Poetry, talks and songs representing the UK’s diverse languages, featuring performances by BSL poet Zoë McWhinney, Welsh singer-songwriter Mared Williams and more, plus talks by scholars Robert Dunbar, Devyani Sharma and Bencie Woll.
British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, St James’s SW1Y 5AH. Also livestreamed online.
Spring Poetry Masterclass: Sophia Blackwell leads a workshop on writing poems of renewal, rebirth and resistance, inspired by poets like Thomas Wyatt and Terrance Hayes.
The Bookseller Crow, 50 Westow Street, Crystal Palace SE19 3AF.
Saturday: Association of Jungian Analysts, 27 Delancey Street, Camden Town NW1 7RX; online access also available. Sunday: Online only, for the London Arts-Based Research Centre.
£195.72 in person, £109.05 online, booking required.
Eco-Poetics and Environmental Artivism: Two-day conference on ecopoetics and environmentalism in literature and other artforms. The call for papers is open until Sun 22 March.
Saturday: Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, Richmond TW10 5HX; online access also available. Sunday: Online only, for the London Arts-Based Research Centre.
£195.72 in person, £109.05 online, booking required.
Poetry between Creation and Interpretation: The London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research hosts an international conference on poetry studies. The call for papers is open until Sat 25 April.
Birkbeck University of London, Bloomsbury; building and rooms TBC. Also available online.
The listing is primarily maintained and updated by Matt Martin, with assistance from other attendees of Writers Forum Workshop.
Haven’t I seen this page elsewhere?
Innovative Poetry Readings in London was developed by the poet Peter Philpott in 2009 as part of his website, www.modernpoetry.org.uk. He continued to run the listings as a service to London’s poetry communities until August 2018; the rest of his site remains active and is of great interest. In 2018, Peter bequeathed the listings to the website of the Contemporary Poetics Research Centreat Birkbeck, University of London, where Matt Martin took on its maintenance. In 2022, changes to the university’s IT systems made it impractical for the listings page to continue there; it moved to its current home at the beginning of 2023.
Why only London?
Exciting things definitely happen in the rest of the UK; this page’s focus on London reflects that Writers Forum Workshop convenes there. To maintain listings of innovative poetry events nationwide would be a forbiddingly huge task, given that the page is updated by volunteers in their spare time.
How can I get my event listed?
Contact us herewith details of any readings or other events for this page, including a link to a webpage or social media post for the event if possible. Contact us when we’ve made a mistake also, please. Bear in mind:
The listings are not always updated daily. To ensure that your event is posted in time to spread the word, please send information at least a week beforehand: the further in advance, the more useful the listing will be for you.
The listings are for activities within the traditions or communities of innovative poetry – those that Writers Forum Workshop exists to further. We aim to be inclusive, incorporating cross-cultural and internationalist currents, and extending to celebrations of modernist precursors, but there are limits to what will be publicised here.
What do you mean by ‘innovative poetry’?
Broadly speaking, poetry that challenges the traditionally accepted definitions of the art form – work which might also be dubbed ‘experimental’, ‘avant-garde’, ‘modernist’, ‘postmodernist’, ‘neo-modernist’, etc. Such poetry can diverge from the conservative norm in many different directions – a personal view from Peter Philpott is online here. These scenes are constantly developing. In the UK, the last couple of decades have seen an increasing (though still frustratingly sporadic) acceptance of innovative poetry by universities, major publishers, literary prize-givers and other institutions. Simultaneously, the field has been enriched by a growing number of intersections between poetry communities, while women, non-binary, Black British and British Asian poets, as well as UK-based poets born overseas, have all become more prominent.
Can you guarantee that these events will be good?
We hope they will be, but we cannot take responsibility for the quality of events organised by other parties, or for the reliability of information made available to us by others. However, every event here is listed because it promises something of interest to those keen to explore new possibilities for poetry. Descriptions in the listings are based on publicity material.
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