The Forward Book of Poetry 2025 collects the best poetry published and performed in Britain and Ireland in the past year. It's a not-to-be-missed overview for poetry fans and a great way in for new readers of contemporary poetry.
This year's poets include Kwame Dawes, Ishion Hutchinson, Pascale Petit, Danez Smith and more.
Peepal Tree Press is saddened to learn of the death of Ameena Gafoor who made an immense contribution to the literary arts in Guyana and to her role in setting up the Ameena Gafoor Institute dedicated to the study of indentureship and its legacies. We provide a link to al creighton's article in Stabroek News which celebrates the importance of Ameena's work.
Words by Jeremy Poynting
To mark the publication of Seepersad Naipaul, Amazing Scenes: Selected Journalism 1928-1953, here's an introduction to his published work, as well as some of the important work that discusses his legacy.
Kwame Dawes, distinguished writer and Peepal Tree's Associate Poetry Editor, has been announced as the next Poet Laureate of Jamaica. He follows Mervyn Morris, Lorna Goodison and Olive Senior. The post lasts for three years and the laureate is charged with both developing poets and a love for poetry in Jamaica.
This is a collection of writing that through its vigour and inventiveness is extremely readable. It makes the case that the very best journalism has every right to be considered as seriously as literary fiction; in a country which has prized the newspaper columnist who combines insight with high style, Seepersad Naipaul claims the status of a pioneer.
Today, we republished Edgar Mittelholzer's autobiography, A Swarthy Boy: A Childhood in British Guiana. Mittelholzer wrote over 20 books in his lifetime, but until 2010, all of them had been out of print since the 1980s. Since we launched our Caribbean Modern Classics series, however, we have managed to bring six of Mittelholzer's most beloved books back to life, including one book of mostly unpublished work under our main imprint.
Edgar Mittelholzer’s A Swarthy Boy: A Childhood in British Guiana (1963) is one of a small number of literary autobiographies by Caribbean writers, and, if strict genre criteria are applied, the first to be published. And even if the field of Caribbean autobiography is widened to extend beyond the literary, A Swarthy Boy still represents a pioneering venture. So, whilst he may well have found models in earlier British writing, as a Caribbean writer he began with almost a blank sheet.
by Jeremy Poynting
The Bookseller recently ran an article titled "ACE clarifies advice on 'political statements' but trade figures still concerned about threat to free speech". Peepal Tree Managing Editor Jeremy Poynting sent a letter to The Bookseller outlining his response to the new Arts Council guidance; numerous other ACE-funded publishers also spoke to the publication. Only part of Jeremy's letter was published, but the rest can be found below the link to the article.
