NEWS
Poetry at The Mad Squirrel: 26th March
The guest poet at last Wednesday's open mic at The Mad Squirrel Tap in St Albans was Stuart Handysides, whose first collection, "The last one picked", is due out from Indigo Dreams later this year.
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Stuart gave excellent readings and there were fine contributions from the floor. We were pleased to welcome visitors from Enfield Poets and Ware Poets as well a number of other new faces.
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Our thanks to Stuart and to everyone who came. (Double click on the slide deck gallery to see the photographs in full.)
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Our next event there will be on 28th May, when the featured poet will be Neil Beardmore.
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31.3.25
26.3.25
26.3.25
26.3.25
26.3.25
John Cotton's Ten-liners Competition 2024
We had an online reading on Saturday 15th March, at which winners of the 2024 Ten-liners Competition and others included in the competition anthology read their poems.
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Congratulations to Cynthia Kitchen, who won first prize with her poem "without anaesthetic", and to Jenny Hodson and Katie Mason, who were joint runners-up with their poems "Still Life" and "Homecoming". Congratulations, too, to the highly commended and commended poets and others whose poems were selected for the anthology.
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The results and winning poems will be published in the Competitions section of the website. The competition, which is for members of Ver Poets only, is held every year. It's free to enter and winners receive a year's subscription to a poetry magazine of their choice.
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24.3.25
Reading in St Albans Library: Saturday 8th March
​​We had a very successful morning of poetry in St Albans Library on Saturday, with readings by Martin Figura and Helen Ivory. Our thanks to them and to the poets who read in the open mic. Martin's latest book, "The Remaining Men", was published by Cinnamon Press last year. Helen's latest book, "Constructing a Witch", was published by Bloodaxe Books in October and was a PBS Winter Recommendation.
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14.3.25
Poetry at The Mad Squirrel: 29th January
We had an excellent open mic last Wednesday at The Mad Squirrel Tap in St Albans with readings by Juliet Troy, Bruce Christianson, Joe Rodrigues, Ruth Higgins, Peter Raynard, Greg Smith and Stephen Claughton.​
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Our thanks to everyone who came. (Double click on the slide deck gallery to see the photographs in full.)
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Our next event there will be on 26th March, when the featured poet will be Stuart Handysides from Ware Poets.
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3.2.25
29.1.25
29.1.25
29.1.25
29.1.25
"Ver Poets Poetry World"
The Winter 2024 Issue of our newsletter, "Ver Poets Poetry World", was sent out to members last month, containing information about our 2025 Open Competition, judged by Rory Waterman. New members, Laraine Bamrah and Katie Mason, introduced themselves; and the Members' News, Views & Recommendations feature included a piece by Katherine Gallagher about guest-editing the final issue of "ARTEMISpoetry". Stephen Claughton reviewed a recent biography of Byron and reported on the Ver Poets Stanza. Gill Knibbs wrote about the poem that changed her life and provided writing ideas in her Poetry Workshop series. As a special bonus, there were some lovely Christmas poems by our members. To become a member of Ver Poets and receive copies of the newsletter three times a year, as well as the other benefits of membership, go to our Membership page.
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13.1.25
"Alive Among Dead Stars" by A. C. Clarke
Congratulations to Ver member, A. C. Clarke, whose new collection, "Alive Among Dead Stars", has been published by Broken Sleep Books.
Her publishers say: ​"In Alive Among Dead Stars, A C Clarke brings a fragmented poetic exploration of the emergence of Dadaism and Surrealism in post-World War I Paris, viewed through the lens of key figures like Paul Éluard, Gala, and Salvador Dalí. The collection parallels the turbulence of personal relationships with the political and social upheavals in Europe between the wars. Structured around the Dadaist and Surrealist techniques of 'Erasure', 'Collage', and 'Paranoia', it reflects the disillusionment with old traditions and the chaotic creativity born from the horrors of the Great War. Alive Among Dead Stars weaves real historical moments with fictional elements to capture the shifting, surreal atmosphere of the time."
Anne's book will be reviewed in the Spring Issue of Ver Poets Poetry World.
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6.1.25
"Can the Dandelions be Trusted?" by Katherine Gallagher
Ver member Katherine Gallagher's new collection, "Can the Dandelions be Trusted?", is now available from Arc Publications.
They say: "Ranging in time and place from her childhood in the Australian outback to heady youthful days in Paris of the '60s, to slower-paced recent years in the gardens and open spaces around her north London home, these poems are full of a colour and energy that paint a picture of life lived to the full, and also a reflectiveness, a gentle humour, and occasionally a sense of loss, as the poet looks back on times past."
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Our congratulations to Katherine on the publication of her new book, which will be reviewed in the Spring Issue of Ver Poets Poetry World.
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28.11.24
Poetry at The Mad Squirrel: 27th November
We had a great open mic at The Mad Squirrel Tap in St Albans on Wednesday with excellent readings by our guest poet, Peter Raynard, and contributors from the floor.
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Peter's new pamphlet, The Harlot and the Rake, a crown of sonnets after Hogarth's prints, is available from Culture Matters.
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Our thanks to Peter and to all who came to read or listen. (Click on the slide deck gallery to see the full photographs.)
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28.11.24
27.11.24
27.11.24
27.11.24
27.11.24
Reading in St Albans Library: Friday 15th November
We were delighted to welcome husband and wife, Michael Bartholomew-Biggs and Nancy Mattson, and Ver member, Louise Walker, who came to read in the creator space at St Albans Library on Friday. It was a very successful evening, with excellent readings by our three guests, as well as by the poets who took part in the open mic. Our thanks to them and to everyone who came to listen.
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Michael's latest book, "Identified Flying Objects", was published by Shoestring Press earlier this year and Louise's debut collection, "From There to Here", was published by Dithering Chaps last month.
Schools Haiku Project
In conjunction with the Abbey Flyer railway line, the St Albans Arts Team are planning to produce a series of haiku boards to be displayed at stations along the line from Watford to St Albans in Spring 2025. They are looking for a creative writer/poet to work with two local primary/junior schools (one in Watford, the other in St Albans) to compose haikus during workshops held in February and March.
They have previously run a similar scheme with people suffering from Parkinson's Disease, when haikus were posted on the St Albans Cathedral railings, in Verulamium Park and in Heartwood Forest.
In addition to travel costs, the Team can pay around £60 an hour for a maximum of 6 one-and-a-half-hour workshops (i.e. 9 hours), but this is negotiable. See the attached Word document for details. Contact christine.blanch@everyoneactive.com or graewall@everyoneactive.com for more information.
BerkoFest Book Festival
Ver Poets had a table at the BerkoFest Book Festival in Berkhamsted on 3rd November. Here are Lesley Lilley and Ruth Higgins with Stephen Claughton, ready to spread the word about Ver to people having books signed by speakers at the Festival.
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"From There to Here" by Louise Walker
Ver member, Louise Walker, has recently published her debut collection, "From Here to There". Described as 'An accomplished, thoughtful and rewarding collection', it explores among other things how a sibling relationship is shattered when her brother dies suddenly in his twenties.
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It costs £9.95 and is available from Dithering Chaps. Louise will be reading from her book in St Albans Library on Friday 15th November (see our Events page).
Poetry at the Mad Squirrel: 25th September
We had an excellent open mic at The Mad Squirrel Tap in St Albans on Wednesday, with special guest Merryn Williams reading her own poems, as well as some from her recent selection of poetry by Ruth Bidgood.
Others who read were Peter Raynard, Rachel James, John Godman, Joe Rodrigues, Mark Randles, Beliz McKenzie and Stephen Claughton.
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Thank you to Merryn and to everyone else who came to read or listen.
25.9.24
25.9.24
25.9.24
25.9.24
Ver Poets Stanza Group
At our AGM on 13th September, it was agreed that Ver Poets should apply to become a Poetry Society stanza group. This has been accepted by the Society, who have added us to their website and emailed members living in the St Albans area to tell them about us. As well as increasing our visibility, becoming a stanza will enable us to exchange ideas and information with the Society and other stanza groups and we very much look forward to working with them.
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All members of Ver Poets are automatically members of the Ver Poets Stanza. You don't have to be a member of the Poetry Society, but if you are you'll be able to enter the Society's stanza competitions. To join Ver Poets and become a member of the Ver Poets Stanza, please see the information on our Membership page.
H'arts in Mind Haiku Competition
The mental health arts charity, H'arts in Mind, are holding a haiku competition for children age 5-7 and 8-11. Entries should be made to hartsinmind@gmail.com (ref HIM) by 30th September. The competition isn't restricted to children living in Hertfordshire and there's more information about the charity on their website.
Ten-liners Competition 2024
Members of Ver Poets are invited to submit entries for John Cotton's Ten-liners Competition, which will be judged by last year's winner, Stephen Claughton. Submit up to three poems (maximum of ten lines each). Entry is free and there will be three prizes of a year's subscription to a poetry magazine. Winning, commended and selected poems will appear in the competition anthology and may be posted on our website and social media.
Details of how to enter were published in the summer issue of "Ver Poets Poetry World" and will be included in the monthly members' e-letter between now and the closing date of 30th November. To join Ver Poets and be eligible to take part in the competition, see our Membership page.
Poems on the Website
Winning poems from our 2024 Open Competition are already on the website Competitions page. Each month we will be adding to the Poems page one of the highly commended or commended poems from the competition anthology. The first is "The Lucky Generation" by Peter Sutton, which was highly commended.
"Ver Poets Poetry World"
The Summer 2024 Issue of our newsletter, "Ver Poets Poetry World", has now been circulated to members. It contains the three winning poems from our 2024 Open Competition as well as news about entry for this year's Ten-Liners Competition for Ver members. In addition to Members' News, Views & Recommendations, there are other regular features, Introducing New Members and A Poet's Diary, as well as a review of three radio programmes about W. H. Auden. There is also an obituary of long-standing Ver member, Doreen Van-Cauter, who sadly died recently. To become a member of Ver Poets and receive copies of the newsletter three times a year and other benefits of membership, go to our Membership page.
Open Mic at The Mad Squirrel
Reluctantly we had to postpone our open mic at The Mad Squirrel on 10th July, as it clashed with the football. Sincere apologies to anyone who was planning to attend. It will now be held on Wednesday 31st July at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start (see our events page).
Open Competition Zoom Reading on 6th July
We had a very successful Zoom reading on Saturday of poems from this year's Ver Poets Open Competition anthology. The winning poems will also be published on our website and in our newsletter.
We are very grateful to Merryn Williams for judging the competition and giving her comments on the poems. We were especially pleased to hear Merryn read poems from her latest collection, "After Hastings", and from her recently-published selection of "Ruth Bidgood: Chosen Poems". Both are available from Shoestring Press. We're looking forward to having Merryn read with us in person later in the year.
Part of the proceeds of this year's competition go to the St Albans District Foodbank and we were grateful to Haydar Shawkat from the Foodbank for attending the event and explaining the excellent work they do. Thanks, too, to everyone who read their poems and to Terry Jones and Gill Knibbs for organising the competition.
Pioneer Club Open Day is Massive Hit
We were pleased to see that Ver Poets were featured in an article in The St Albans Times about The Pioneer Club's Glastonbury Open Day on Sunday 30th June. There are photographs of Neil Beardmore singing the blues, Ver Committee members Stephen Claughton, Juliet Troy, Lesley Lilley & Greg Smith manning the Ver Poets table and Lesley & Juliet reading their poems. It was a great day out.
Open Competition 2024
The winners of the Ver Poets Open Competition 2024, judged by Merryn Williams, have now been announced. Details can be found on our Competitions Page. Congratulations to Josh Ekroy (1st), Damen O'Brien (2nd) and Robert Seatter (3rd), as well as to the highly commended & commended poets and others selected for the Competition Anthology. There will be a prize-giving event via Zoom on Saturday 6th July at 2.00 pm, when poets will read poems from the Anthology and Merryn will deliver her adjudication report. She will also be reading some of her own poems. We are very grateful to her and to everyone who entered the Competition.
"Glastonbury Open Day" at The Pioneer Club, St Albans
We've been invited by The Pioneer Club in St Albans to take part in their "Glastonbury Open Day" on Sunday 30th June. We'll be manning a table with information about Ver Poets as well as publications by the society and its members, some of whom will be on hand to explain what we do. We will also be reading poems at various times during the day. More details will appear on our Events Page, when they're available. It promises to be an exciting day out with live-streaming of Glastonbury and DJ sets as well as Ver Poets. Our thanks to The Pioneer Club for inviting us.
