Welcome to Ver Poets. We are a St Albans based poetry society with a national and international membership. Please explore our website to find out about our programme of poetry events, poetry competitions and benefits of membership. Also visit our Facebook Page. Venue for monthly meetings, see below.
See the competitions page for the results of previous Ver Poets Competitions.
Forthcoming Events
Open Competition 2015
Closing Date: April 30th
Adjudicator – Anne-Marie Fyfe
Anne-Marie Fyfe (b. Cushendall, Co. Antrim) has four collections of poetry includingUnderstudies: New and Selected Poems and a fifth collection, House of Small Absences, due from Seren Books in 2015; has won the Academi Cardiff International Poetry Prize; has run Coffee-House Poetry’s readings and workshops at London’s leading live literature venue, the Troubadour, since 1997, organises the annual Hewitt Spring Festival in the Glens of Antrim, and was chair of thePoetry Society from 2006-2009. www.annemariefyfe.com
FIRST PRIZE £600
SECOND PRIZE £300
THIRD PRIZE £100
CLOSING DATE: APRIL 30TH 2015
Winning and selected poems published in
the competition anthology.
Sea Poetry and Music evening
Friday March 20th, 7.45 for 8pm
Ver Poets bring you a performance from the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge, Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold – and readings from Littoral (Shearsman Press) by Patricia Debney, who spent a month in a beach hut contemplating her life in the waves.
Bring your own favourite short sea poem to read in the second half. Nautical tunes from Mike Ruff and Rebecca Hubbard.
Entry £5 with free refreshments. Members £2.
Kit Wright Reading
NEW TIME AND VENUE !!
Monday April 27th at 7:30 pm, doors open at 7 pm
Waterstones, 8 St Peters Street, St Albans, AL1 3LF
Poetry Reading and Open Mic. Kit Wright reading from Ode to Didcot Power Station and other poems. Poems on power/ energy from the floor – or poems on other subjects. Refreshments.
‘As a poet he simply has more bounce per ounce.’ Patricia Beer in the TLS
Poetry Workshop with David Van Cauter
Friday May 15th at 8pm
New ways into writing poetry.
Venue for monthly meetings: St Michael’s Church Parish Centre, St Albans unless we indicate otherwise (opposite the Verulamium Museum – plenty of free parking available). Usually on the 3rd Friday of the month at 8 pm.
All Welcome
Unguarded Gold
Please contact us to find out how to obtain our anthology published in memory of our founder, May Ivimy Badman and featuring poems by Ver poets and friends of the society. New Bargain Price £5.00 Includes poems by John Mole, Carole Satyamurti, Alan Brownjohn, Katherine Gallagher, Roger Garfitt, Lotte Kramer and many more published and unpublished poets.