This week in our poetry news round up we look at the death of the pioneering spoken word artist Black Ice and the newly announced poetry longlist for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature.
Spoken Word Pioneer Black Ice Dies Aged 54
[caption id="attachment_20768" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images[/caption]
Black Ice, the Philadelphia poet who did as much as anyone to carry spoken word ...
This week in our poetry news round up we look at the newly announced shortlists for the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry and the death of the poet and art critic Edward Lucie-Smith.
2026 Forward Prize Shortlists Announced
The shortlists for the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry were announced on Thursday July 16th, narrowing the field to twenty poets across the four categories. Founded in 1992 by William Sieghart, the Forward Prizes ...
This week in our poetry news round up we take a look at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, which is currently in full swing, and the posthumous collection of last poems from the Pulitzer Prize winner Franz Wright.
Ledbury Poetry Festival Underway
The Ledbury Poetry Festival, one of the largest and longest-running celebrations of poetry in the UK, is currently taking place in the Herefordshire ...
This week in our poetry news round up we look at the newly announced longlists for the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry and some of the names making the cut.
Forward Prizes for Poetry Reveal 2026 Longlists
The longlists for the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry were announced on Monday June 22nd. Founded back in 1992 by William Sieghart, the Forward Prizes have grown ...
