July 2026 Quote of the Month

"You know the truth

You wish you didn't have it"

From 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Poet in Motormouth

by Tom Priestley, Great Britain, 2021.

See Motormouth: Amazon.co.uk: Priestley, Tom: 9798767834211: Books

(Clicking the image will take you to the book's website and this will have different cookies to this site)

20+ Poetry Things You Could Do Today

1) From this site - check out poets reading their poems...

See: Bob and Poetry.com: Short poetry clips - YouTube

For longer readings and films see: Bob and Poetry.com: Readings On YouTube - YouTube

I add to these playlists all the time so do keep checking.

2) ... And visit the Poetry Magazine's Page

There links to dozens of sites on poetry. Blue Marble Review - Literary Journal for Young Writers, for instance, regularly has a free, new, online magazine to read and posted new poems in June 2026.

Or, The Lake - contemporary poetry webzine - POETRY, showcases new poetry nearly every month, the most recent being July 2026.

3. (From How to Go Home | Eleanor Robins | Substack)

The Imagining Realm

If you are having a day in which you are wanting to write poetry, or perhaps would like to be having one of those days, I would like to recommend you spend a few minutes watching this video on Eleanor Robin's Substack page.

To watch click this link: My top practice for creating from the imaginal real

4. (From Writer's Digest)

Wednesday Poetry Prompts - Writer's Digest

Robert Lee Brewer is now offering weekly Wednesday Poetry Prompts, which may contrast a little with my preferred approach from Eleanor Robins, but it is important we all find our own way ahead, and they are by no means mutually exclusive. The archive of these prompts extends over 118 pages.

'Are you passionate about writing poetry? This is where you’ll find poetry prompts, solid tips on writing poetry, interviews with poets, and blog posts highlighting various poetic forms. Sit back, relax, and learn more about the craft of poetry!'

To see, click the link Write Better Poetry | Poetic Forms | Poetry Prompts - Writer's Digest

5) (From Plume | Online Poetry Magazine)

Plume Issue #179 2026

"In brief, Plume is a magazine dedicated to publishing the very best of contemporary poetry. To that end, we will be highly selective, offering twelve poems per monthly issue."

There is an extensive archive to enjoy, too

For this edition see: Plume Issue #179 July 2026 Archives - Plume

6) (From Of Poetry Podcast – Kitchen table conversations with poets)

Episode 89: Preeti Vangani (Of Being Rooted in Elegy, Embodiment, and Inexhaustibility in Poetry) – Of Poetry Podcast

"Preeti Vangani is an Indian poet & writer based in San Francisco.."

All the episodes are available from the site's homepage.

See Episode 89: Preeti Vangani (Of Being Rooted in Elegy, Embodiment, and Inexhaustibility in Poetry)

Check out other Podcasts at Poetry Podcasts (List) | Bob and Poetry

7) (From Carol Rumens's poem of the week | Books | The Guardian website page)

Carol Rumens' Poem of the Week

A faultlessly consistent article in a national newspaper, and always available online, too. Sadly Carol died in May this year, though the archive remains available and is well worth exploring.

See Poem of the week: Carol Rumens's poem of the week | The Guardian

8) (From The Fig Tree | Tim Fellows | Substack)

The Fig Tree Issue 15

'Welcome to issue fifteen of The Fig Tree.

This issue’s Featured Poet is West Yorkshire-based Laura Strickland, who hasn’t appeared in the magazine before but who was a guest reader at the launch of Ian Parks’ The Sons of Darkness and the Sons of Light and who also read for the Read To Write group in Doncaster, where she led an interesting discussion on prose poetry...'

Read this issue at The Fig Tree - Issue 15 - by Tim Fellows - The Fig Tree

All Back issues and the two Coal Mining Anthologies are available at : The Fig Tree | Tim Fellows | Substack

9) (From Dust Poetry Magazine)

Issue 15 is now available.

The new June 2025 edition of this has just been posted. See: Issue 15, Dear World

All 15 editions are available on the website.

10) (From Top Writing Contests website)

Enter Your Poem Into a Competition

Writing Competitons .Net list all the current competitions that you can enter. If you subscribe to their email they will keep you posted on new ones as they come out. Its brilliant.

See Top Writing Contests

11) (From Between the Covers | Milkweed Editions website)

Between The Covers

Between the Covers is a celebrated literary podcast hosted by writer David Naimon, known worldwide for its generous and in-depth conversations with today’s most vital thinkers. The podcast has garnered international praise in The Guardian, The Financial Times, and Electric Literature for its “incredible and in-depth conversations.” In partnership with Milkweed Editions, Between the Covers continues its mission to create space for immersive literary conversations that illuminate the complexities of contemporary writing.

For the most recent poetry book based podcast see: Eleni Sikelianos : Memory Rehearsal | Milkweed Editions

12) (From Poetry Extra webpage )

Poetry Extra - The Echo Chamber - Sean Borodale - BBC Sounds

"Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects The Echo Chamber - Sean Borodale - who, in this edition, is in a literal echo chamber. (...)

Contemporary Welsh edited by Robert Minhinnick. In the Echo Chamber, poet Sean Borodale shares poems from his collection Asylum, written deep within the caves of the Mendip Hills in Somerset. He is then joined in a caving pub by Holly Corfield Carr." From 2018.

See: Poetry Extra - The Echo Chamber - Sean Borodale - BBC Sounds

13) (From The Buzz – The Hive Poetry Collective Website)

S8: E27 Flags and Feelings. Independence Day episode with Farnaz Fatemi and Hannah Too - loaded 6th July 2026

"Airing on KSQD 90.7 FM most Sundays at 8:00, the Hive Poetry Collective is a buzz of poets in Santa Cruz, California— a swarm of radio conversations, public readings, and writing workshops. " All episodes are available at the website.

Hear the most recent podcast and all the archive at: The Hive Poetry Collective • A podcast on Spotify for Creators

14) (From West Wilts Radio)

The Poetry Place – West Wilts Radio (Click for archive)

"The Poetry Place is a monthly poetry magazine programme bringing you news, views, readings and interviews from today’s poetry community, both locally and further afield. Presented by Dawn Gorman and Peter O’Grady, it brings inspiration and food for thought for everyone, from those who enjoy listening to the occasional poem, to people writing and publishing their own work.

There's a new episode on the last Sunday of every month, with repeats from the archive on the other Sundays of the month."

Hear the most recent new edition first broadcast on 28th June, 2026 2026 at : The Poetry Place with Kate Noakes & Kieron Winn #78-28/06/26 – West Wilts Radio

15) (From Rattle Poetry)

Critique of the Week: A Live Video Workshop

"It’s hard to find honest feedback about your work, but knowing how your poems are actually landing is more useful than any other advice a poet can get ... so we’d like to extend that experience to anyone who is interested.

With Critique of the Week, we’ll workshop several poems publicly each week, via Facebook and YouTube. Participants will get a chance to hear how the Rattle editors would encounter a poem if it were a submission and offer suggestions for improvement. Everyone is then welcome to join in the discussion in the video’s comments section, providing their own thoughts and feedback. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel so that you don’t miss any of the critiques."

For more information see: Critique of the Week - Rattle: Poetry

Or see the latest live streamed event at : Rattlecast - Rattle: Poetry

Or read the latest daily poem at: Rattle: Poetry

(I sign up to the email daily post and strongly recommend it.)

16) (From Eat The Storms website)

Readings from Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Kevin Graham, Molly Twomey and Zita McGarry

Episode 7 of Eat the Storms, Season 10, is One Last Storms for 2025, and is now available on most podcast platforms, with readings from Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Kevin Graham, Molly Twomey and Zita McGarry Hosted and produced by Damien B. Donnelly

Visit: Eat the Storms – One Final Storm 2025 – The Poetry Podcast – Episode 7 – Season 10 – Storm Shelter

Hear the podcast archive at: Listen to the Podcast – Storm Shelter

17) (From BBC Radio 4 - The Verb)

Poetry to Keep You Afloat

Presented by Ian McMillan.

First broadcast on 28 Jun 2026.

See The Verb - Poetry to keep you afloat - BBC Sounds

Though this has slipped quite far down my list for no particular reason, The Verb is one of my favourite shows on radio and is available in podcast form. There is an archive of 280 episodes available at: BBC Radio 4 - The Verb - Available now

18) (From Moving Poems website)

Watch the Best Poetry Videos on the Web

'Our main focus here is on videopoetry, “a genre of poetry displayed on a screen, distinguished by its time-based, poetic juxtaposition of text with images and sound,” .' Possibly no longer updating, but there's links to 2300 videos to see at Videopoems | Moving Poems

19) (From Spotify - Web Player: Music for everyone)

Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast

'Frank Skinner loves poetry and thinks you might like it too.' If you are able to use Spotify, I strongly recommend this podcast, which is free and has the complete archive available. Frank offers wonderful insights into poems and poets that have certainly broadened my understanding. As you would expect, from Frank Skinner his presentation style is highly engaging and entertaining. See Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

20) (From T.S. Eliot website)

T.S. Eliot Prize

The T.S. Eliot Prize winner for 2025 has now been announced, and videos of all the nominees can be seen. Every year of the prize I have enjoyed watching the poets read from their book, and say a little about themselves. See: 2025 – T. S. Eliot Prize

The 2026 Prize judges are now announced: 2026 – T. S. Eliot Prize

the whole amazing archive at T. S. Eliot Prize - YouTube

21) (From Apples and Snakes)

Read, Watch, Listen : Apples and Snakes

Get the latest updates from the Apples and Snakes website at Read, Watch, Listen : Apples and Snakes

Maybe hear the most recent podcast at: S4 EP 10 | Sophia Thakur | Apples and Snakes: The Podcast

The archive of 48 podcasts is available at Apples and Snakes: The Podcast | Apples and Snakes.

22) (From London Review Bookshop website)

New Faber Poetry

"Wednesday 11 March 2026, 7 p.m. · 53 minutes

RABBITBOX is Wayne Holloway-Smith’s first foray into long-form narrative, but it retains the originality, compression and power which characterise his poetry collections (most recently Love Minus Love, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize). Exploring a mother and her young son’s reactions to an all-consuming domestic threat, Joelle Taylor has described how, in RABBITBOX, Holloway-Smith ‘bunches language like a fist, one that unravels into shadow butterflies’.

Holloway-Smith was in conversation with the actor Adeel Akhtar."

Hear this podcast at: I Wayne Holloway-Smith and Adeel Akhtar: RABBITBOX | London Review Bookshop

For lots of past videos and podcasts (not exclusively poetry) see: Podcasts & video | London Review Bookshop

23) (From The Poetry Programme - RTÉ Radio 1 (rte.ie) website)

The Poetry Programme

Though the show is sadly off-air now, the immense archive, from 2017 to 2022, is still available to listen to and is recommended.

See The Poetry Programme - RTÉ Radio 1 (rte.ie)

Also see Poetry File - RTÉ Podcasts (rte.ie)

24) (From Bad Lilies)

June 2026 Issue 24

"Bad Lilies is edited by Kathryn Gray and Andrew Neilson. We aim to showcase the finest poetry, ranging in technique and subject matter." See the new issue here: Issue twenty-four — Bad Lilies

See the full archive here: Issues — Bad Lilies