The Poems We Made Along The Way

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Clare Pollard about breaking your own rules, poems being like haunted houses, and the word poetess. Clare Pollard is a poet, novelist, children’s author, translator non-fiction writer and editor. She wrote her first poetry collection The Heavy-Petting Zoo (published by Bloodaxe) was written while she was still in school...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to George Szirtes about form, translation, and the exact moment that he decided that he wanted to become a poet. George Szirtes is a poet, memoirist, editor and translator. He has published numerous collections of poetry including Reel (which won the TS Eliot Prize), Mapping the Delta and his most recent collection Fresh O...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Mary Jean Chan about clarity, truth vs fact in a poem and the drafting process as a form of play. Mary Jean Chan is the author of Flèche (Faber & Faber, 2019), which won the Costa Book Award for Poetry. Bright Fear (Faber, 2023), Chan's second book, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Dyla...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Erica Hesketh about poetic form, the creativity of translation and exploring heritage. Erica Hesketh is a poet and editor, originally from Japan and Denmark, now based in London. Her poetry has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, Spread the Word and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2016 to 2024 she was...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Rishi Dastidar about the death of rhetoric, the importance of good titles and the links between poetry and advertising. Rishi Dastidar is a poet, copywriter and brand strategist. His books Ticker Tape, Safron Jack and Neptune’s Projects have all been published by Nine Arches Press. His new book A Hobby of Mine was publi...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Lewis Buxton about how to be a good performer of poems, writing sonnets and how to build an audience. Lewis Buxton is a writer, theatre maker and co-director of TOAST. His books include Boys in Various Poses (published by Nine Arches Press) and Mate Arias (published by Emma Press). He toured his debut theatre show ‘Work...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Katie Hale about museums, traveling to the Antarctic and the importance of mentoring/being mentored. Katie Hale is a poet, novelist and mentor. She won the Northern Debut Award for her poetry collection, White Ghosts and has published two novels: The Edge of Solitude and My Name is Monster. Katie also mentors young writ...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Luke Kennard about the importance of funding small presses, outrunning the inner critic and his obsession with sitcoms. Luke Kennard is a multi award-winning poet for collections including Notes on the Sonnets. His forthcoming collection The Book of Jonah is published by Picador. He is Professor of Creative Writing at U...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Deryn Rees-Jones about silence, Posthuman feminism and how place effects the way you write. Deryn Rees-Jones is author of several books of poetry including Hôtel Amour, Erato and What It’s Like To Be Alive, all published by Seren. She is also a professor of Poetry at University of Liverpool and editor of the Pavilion Po...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Anthony Anaxagorou about the myth of inspiration, cinematic writing and maximalism in poetry. Anthony Anaxagorou has written numerous collections including Heritage Aesthetics and After the Formalities (published by Granta Books and Penned in the Margins respectively). Anthony is artistic director of Out-Spoken, a month...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Daniel Sluman about the importance of time to the writing process, the influence of music on his work and the poetics of disability. Daniel Sluman has written numerous collections including Single Window, The Terrible and Absence has a weight of its own. In 2021 Daniel was nominated for the T.S. Elliot award. He also wa...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Mimi Khalvati about The Poetry School, syntax in poems and the role listening plays in writing. Mimi Khalvati is a poet who received the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2023. In 2024 her Collected Poems were published by Carcanet, which later won the Jhalak Poetry Prize. Mimi was one of the co-founders of The Poetry Sch...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way, Gregory Kearns speaks to Rachael Allen about The Minack Theatre’s creator Rowena Cade, the myth of filler poems and surrealism. Rachael Allen is a poet and editor. Her books Kingdomland and God Complex have been published by Faber and Faber. The latter shortlisted for the Forward Prize and longlisted for the Laurel Prize. She was the recipient...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Jacob Polley about writers who influenced him from his hometown Carlisle, riddles and Wilfred Owen Jacob Polley is a poet and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle. He has published 5 collections of poetry and a novel called Talk of the Town. His collection, Jackself won the 2016 T.S. Eliot P...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Sandeep Parmar about the Ledbury Critics Scheme, racism in the British poetry world and the drafting process. Sandeep Parmar is a poet and Professor of English literature at the University of Liverpool. She has published a broad range of books from her poetry collections to her critical work, including her exploration o...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Rachel Mann about negative space, counter factuals and the etymology of a few religious words.  Rachel Mann is a poet and is the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford. She has authored several books spanning poetry, non-fiction and fiction. Her theological texts include Do Not Be Afraid, Dazzling Darkness and her novel...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory Kearns speaks to Steve Ely about feral poetics, Ted Hughes and Yorkshire Arts Circus. Steve Ely is a poet and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Huddersfield. He has published numerous collections including Oswald’s Book of Hours, Englaland and Eely. He also has published a novel, Ratmen and ran the Ted Hughes Netw...

Today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory chats to Betty Doyle about Sylvia Plath, Tarot cards and some short words on Taylor Swift. Betty Doyle is a poet from Liverpool. She completed a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University on the poetics of infertility. Betty has published pamphlets with both Verve Poetry Press and Seren. You can buy Betty’s most recent pamphlet Fruits of La...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along the Way Gregory chats to Wendy Allen about Barbara Hepworth, collaborative writing and inventing forms. Wendy Allen is a poet and ex-cabin crew member for 20 years. She is currently working on her PhD at Manchester Writing School. She has three pamphlets published and one forth coming. She often works collaboratively including with poets Charley Barnes...

Part Two: On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats to Jacob Sam-La Rose about inventing forms, computational poetics and how Jacob approaches structuring poems. You can buy Jacob’s book here: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/breaking-silence-1010   For more information about The Barbican Young Poets: https://www.barbican.org.uk/take-part/young-creatives/bar...

Part One: On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats to Jacob Sam-La Rose about Urban Poets Society, being an editor and starting Barbican Young Poets. Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, editor and facilitator based in London. His collection Breaking Slience was published by Bloodaxe. He established and leads Barbican Young Poets – a literary development programme. You can buy J...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats to Hera Lindsay Bird about children’s literature, writing long poems and her fandom of the writer Mark Leidner. Hera Lindsay Bird is a writer based in New Zealand. She has published two books including her self-titled debut collection Hera Lindsay Bird and her pamphlet Pamper Me to Hell & Back was a Laureate’s choice. She has...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats to Liz Berry about Zines, vernacular poetry and the importance of libraries. Liz Berry is a poet based in Birmingham  who has published numerous books including Black Country, The Republic of Motherhood and The Home Child. Liz has won numerous awards including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, The Writers’ Prize and won two...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats with Roger Robinson about creative citizenship, travelling the UK and writing haikus. Roger Robinson is a writer and educator who has published numerous books including his T.S. Eliot Prize winning collection A Portable Paradise. Roger also has published digital resources to support people to become better poets and to help “make...

On today’s episode of The Poems We Made Along The Way Gregory chats with Helen Mort about writing rhymes, how to find permission and how to get good at metre. Helen Mort is a writer based in Sheffield. Back in 2015 she was chosen as one of the Next Generation poets and has won numerous awards including the Eric Gregory Award in 2007. Helen’s most recent publication Dad Vs. Dad from Verse Poetry Pr...