THEMES FOR THE YEAR
Our overarching theme is GIVE IT SOME VERVE. We've mapped out the sub-themes for the next 12 months. Each theme encourages bold, boundary-pushing interpretations while still making room for deep, personal, and experimental writing.
April 2025 OOMPH (WHEN IT LANDS)
Force. Punch. Momentum. Something has to happen.
May 2025 VIVACITY (ALIVE AND SHOWING IT)
Liveliness. Animation. Not just being alive, but showing it.
June 2025 SPIRIT (OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT)
Drive. Belief. Stubborn internal fuel. What keeps you going.
July 2025 TOO MUCH (OOMPH GONE ROGUE)
Excess. Overdrive. When energy tips into chaos.
August 2025 GET-UP-AND-GO (NO WAITING AROUND)
Initiation. Doing the thing. No waiting for the right mood.
September 2025 THE VERVE (THE BAND)
Sound. Lyric. Cultural memory. Borrow, respond, distort.
December 2025 PARTY TRICKs (SHOW US)
Whats your special skill. Precision as performance. Show us.
January 2026 VERBA (WORDS THAT DO SOMETHING)
Language that does something. Not decorative.
February 2026 VERVE (TRY AND DEFINE IT)
What is it, actually? Where is it? Who has it?
March 2026 NO VERVE (WHEN NOTHING CATCHES)
Deadness. Stagnation. Withholding. The absence of spark.
Join POTM
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OUR NEXT POEM OF THE MONTH OPENS
APRIL 1st AND CLOSE ON APRIL 20th.
Watch this space for more details.
VERVE’s Poem of the Month
YOU BELONG HERE
or maybe you don’t? Maybe you don’t care? Maybe you write poems that spit in the face of belonging? Either way, we wanna read ‘em!
A monthly poetry competition for the bold, the beautiful, the bizarre, and the brilliant!
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£100 prize for the winning poem
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£3 per poem, £6 for three (see where the money goes below)
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Max 3 poems per person per month
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OPTIONAL monthly theme (follow it or completely rebel against it – we respect chaos)
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Judge: Stuart Bartholomew (VERVE Poetry Press & Festival Founder)
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Assistant Judges: Hayley Frances (Co-Director) & Collective Members
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AI-Generated Poems? Get outta here
WHAT's THE DEAL?
WHAT's THE TIMELINE?
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1st of each month: Submissions open
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20th of each month: Submissions close.
(No, we can't read late poems. We are poets, not wizards.) -
31st of Month: Winner announced + winning poem featured on our website, socials and sent out to *thousands* of poets, publishers, other poetry industry people and, dare-we-say it normal people subscribed to VERVE.
WHAT's THE TONE?
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Poetry doesn’t have to be serious or traditional, but it does need to be poetry. Poems are multilayered, crafted, considered, and at some level, make or question our senses with figurative language.
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Be you. Don't try to perform your poem as you write it. Don't try to be a poet, just write the specifics, be the director behind the lens - it's your poem and it needs to sound like you. Don't use flowery language if it's not you. Be original.
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Journalling or unconscious writing so often used to loosen the mind in poetry workshops is not poetry, it is used to create poetry. Remember this when you send stuff in.
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Take care of yourselves. We receive a lot of very personal very serious poems. When you are writing difficult topics, or reciting trauma, ensure you have enough distance and support around you. You may pour yourself on the page, get a rejection and this may not be the best for your mental health. We love reading your poems. Look after yourselves, give yourself space from initial draft for the edit. Poems feel different depending on how we feel when we read them.
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Come as you are. Write what you want. Make it POETRY!
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
This incentive is not money making for us. It's not about making a profit or taking the limited funds poets / writers / artists make. Submission money is split between paying the winner of POEM OF THE MONTH and funding our FREE community poetry projects.
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Open Door community poetry open mic.
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The Collective.
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Poetry Mentorship.
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Free children's & young people's events at our annual festival.
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