Poetry Space

24/08/2026

Poetry Space website is being redesigned . If you would like your work considered for the first showcase of poetry once we launch just send up to 4 poems to [email protected]. I publish a small selection of poems on a quarterly basis.

14/06/2026

Poetry Space Summer Showcase 2026 is now live. We are accepting poems all year round for consideration and now just taking previously unpublished work.

The Showcase is published online four times a year.

Edited by Susan Jane Sims. Contributions by Tina Cole,Nick Cooke, Gill Gregory, Betty Hasler, Susan Jane Sims, Denni Turp, and Ant Mac

29/05/2026

AI gets a lot of bad press but can be helpful with admin tasks if these don’t come naturally!!

I used co pilot for the first time this morning to help me fulfil a large amount of orders I had received from Gardners wholesalers for one of our pamphlet winners: Stalin’s Parrot by Isabelle Thompson.

I often find it overwhelming when a lot of orders come in at once but I gave copilot all the relevant info and it helped me produce a very presentable invoice and saved me time.

This is the very popular title below. I designed the cover!! And Isabelle Thompson’s writing is fantastic . Shortlisted by me and selected by Rosie Jackson as the winner in the debut category Poetry Space Prize 2025, it can now be purchased from the Poetry Space online shop at www.poetryspace.co.uk

03/03/2026

Poetry Space Spring Showcase is now live with some wonderful poems. Hope you enjoy. Poems by Tina Cole, Nick Cooke, Gill Gregory, Betty Hasler, Ant Mac, Denni Turp and one from me. Do send in up to four of your own for consideration for future editions.

Edited by Susan Jane Sims. Contributions by Tina Cole,Nick Cooke, Gill Gregory, Betty Hasler, Susan Jane Sims, Denni Turp, and Ant Mac

18/12/2025

I am taking part in this conversation and talking about my late son Mark. You can book here.

This moving conversation presented by Cancer Research UK explores the powerful theme of legacy in the face of cancer

12/12/2025

Just a reminder about our lovely online event this evening.

We shall be launching the 2024 prizewinning pamphlets by Denni Turp, Dorothy Baird, Marion Horton and Jayne Stanton. Do come and join us.

Friday 12th December - we are having an online launch for the pamphlets that received Poetry Space Prize 2024, judged by Patricia Brody. The poets are Jayne Stanton, Dorothy Baird, Marion Horton and Denni Turp. Do join at 7pm via the online zoom link.

30/09/2025

I have just heard that Brian Patten has died. Here’s one of his love poems:

Not Only
By Brian Patten

Not only the leaf shivering with delight
No,
Not only the grass shrugging off the weight of frost
No,
Not only the taste of your skin
No,
Not only steam rising from the morning river
No,
Not only the heart on fire
No,
Not only the sound of the sunflower roaring
No,
Not only love’s resurrection
No,
Not only the cathedral window deep in the raindrop
No,
Not only the sky as blue and smooth as an egg
No,
Not only the fairytale of forever
No,
Not only the wings of the crane fly consumed by fire
No,
Not only these things
No,
But without you none of these things

30/09/2025

So proud of my son Mark and what has achieved. So proud of Dave too for telling his story. His family and friends will never forget him.

When Dave’s brother Mark was diagnosed with terminal melanoma, our study helped him leave a lasting legacy.

Dave and his identical twin Mark were inseparable in childhood and spent their teenage years on hiking adventures together. But, in 2003, their care-free lives changed forever when Mark was diagnosed with melanoma. He was just 15.

Mark was treated for his melanoma and lived on happily. But then, nearly 12 years after his initial diagnosis, he found out that his cancer had spread to his liver, lungs and spleen.

While coming to terms with his diagnosis, Mark found out about our PEACE study, which invites people with advanced cancer to donate tissue samples before and after their death. These samples allow the PEACE team to study how cancer spreads and why treatments stop working in the final stages of cancer.

For Mark, there was no hesitation when he was asked to donate samples.

“Everyone wants to feel that their life has meaning, and taking part in the PEACE study definitely gave Mark an extra sense of purpose,” says Dave. “He may have had a relatively short life, but he achieved so much and made a huge contribution to the world. I’m so proud of what Mark did.”

01/09/2025

Please send poems in to be considered for our next showcase after a short break. https://www.poetryspace.co.uk/2025/03/march-2025/
Please send up your four poems to [email protected]

Edited by Susan Jane Sims. Poems by Lizzie Ballagher, Patricia Brody, Eileen Carney Hulme, Nick Cooke, Judy Dinnen, Rosie Jackson, Andrew Scotson and Susan Jane Sims. Photograph Rhiannon May.