Free verse, 2026

I liked the Poetry Society's Free Verse event on April 25th, where dozens of small press publishers had stalls. One of the talks was "AI in Poetry and Translation". I bought "A Z-hearted guide to heartache" by Charley Barnes (V.press, 2018), "checkout" by Kathy Gee (V.press, 2019), "This Lexia & other languages" by Helen Kay (V.press, 2020), and was given "Patterns in the dust" (Foyles Young Poets of the year anthology, 2025), "Always another twist" by Sarah Leavesley (Mantle Lane Press, 2018), and "Kaleidoscope" by Sarah Leavesley (Mantle Lane Press, 2017).

I popped into the LRB bookshop too, buying "One sun only" by Camille Bordas - short stories (Serpent's tail, 2026).