Butcher's Dog Issue (lucky) 7 launch at Newcastle Poetry Festival 7th May 2016

A fine and electric issue of Butcher's Dog available now with new work from Roy Marshall, Barbara Barnes, Bridget Khursheed, Richie McCaffery and many more.

And in launch at the Newcastle Poetry Festival.

Find out more about Butcher's Dog here http://www.butchersdogmagazine.com/. And if you don't know this magazine we suggest you look and then do your utmost to get a poem in it.

And you can also see much else at the Newcastle Poetry Festival which runs 5th until 7th May and looks cracking, plus find out who has won the Basil Bunting poetry award, not to mention Sean O'Brien...more on all that here http://www.newcastlepoetryfestival.co.uk/

Tickets for StAnza on sale now

I have been buying my tickets.

Looking forward very much to seeing Lemn Sissay and Don Patterson on Friday night but I am also loving the German strand with events like Anna Crowe, Michael Donhauser, Odile Kennel, and Don Paterson again in a VERSschmuggel (verse smuggling) reading. I thought this would be the time I would get to hear Sean O'Brien but I have a very strong commitment to being in a forest on Sunday so that is not to be. Excellent line-up all through the festival and that is not to mention the open mics and of course just rubbing shoulders with everyone in St Andrews.

I will be reading myself alongside the fabulous Lindsay Macgregor, Em Strang and Samuel Tongue http://stanzapoetry.org/festival/events/new-writers-showcase.

Tickets available and all the interesting stuff you could possibly need here http://stanzapoetry.org/

Top tip: Oxfam on South Street do a fabulous spread of all their poetry books. Impossible to resist....

The Griffin poetry prize shortlist 2012

This is the world’s largest prize for a first edition single collection of poetry written in English. ­The mouth-watering international and Canadian shortlist includes David Harsent, Jan Zwicky, Yusef Komunyakaaour and Sean O'Brien.

It aims to:

• spark the public’s imagination
• and raise awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in our cultural life.

Sounds good to us.

Here's Jan Zwicky's nominated book Forge - you may have to hunt around for it if you don't live in North America (and even there) but well worth the effort.

More information here http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/awards-and-poets/shortlists/2012-shortlist/