𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒃 ~ 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅

A superb evening celebrating 6 years of @iamb.uk
Beautifully co-hosted by the brilliant @louisepoetical.bsky.social and founding genius @markantonyowen.com Stunning poetry, a feast for the ears. Thank you! 😊 💚✨

Poster announcing the sixth anniversary of online poetry journal iamb, and showing the faces of 18 poets who featured in its birthday celebration on Zoom on the evening of January 31st 2026.

Six years ago, a new online poetry journal launched against an inauspicious backdrop of a pandemic and Britain's exit from the EU.

@iamb.uk has since sailed many waves. Its 25th will appear this March. Last night, these 18 poets celebrated the journal's first six years. And it was bloody brilliant!

Promotional poster for the sixth birthday party online to celebrate poetry journal iamb. Starts at 7pm on Saturday January 31st 2026. Twenty-one poets will each read a poem from their page, plus one other. Special guest poet is Penelope Shuttle.

**TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!!**

Join 21 past contributors to @iamb.uk as we celebrate the journal's sixth year online.

Tickets are still available (just!) – and they're FREE!!

Go to bit.ly/iamb_is_six to reserve your place, bring along cake and wine, and get set for a great evening of poetry. 🥳🎂

Announcement showing the three poets nominated for The Forward Prizes 2026 by online poetry journal iamb. The poets are: Rishika Williams for 'On the bald hill', Barnaby Harsent for 'Mandrake – hallucination', and Victoria Spires for 'Mother-Substitute'. These nominations are for the Best Single Poem (Written) category.

On the day nominations open for The Forward Prizes 2026, @iamb.uk is delighted to announce its three nominees in the Best Single Poem (Written) category.

Best of luck to Rishika Williams, @jahshabby.bsky.social and @victoriaspires.bsky.social. 🥳

Last Saturday - celebrating 6 years of iamb Join iamb's creator/curator Mark Antony Owen & host Louise Longson for a night of poems to celebrate 6 years of this great poetry showcase.

On Feb 1 2026, @iamb.uk celebrates six years online. Join @louisepoetical.bsky.social and creator/curator @markantonyowen.com on Jan 31 – plus a hand-picked selection of poets from the 380 who've featured in the journal so far – for a free, fun evening of poetry readings. 🥳🎂

bit.ly/iamb_is_six

Announcement of a new, simpler URL for online poetry quarterly iamb. The web address is changing from iambapoet.com to iamb.uk.

Merry Christmas to poets and poetry lovers everywhere!

As a seasonal gift to you all, @iambapoet.com has a new, simpler web address:

iamb.uk

It's not yet 'official' across the site – but it works right now.

URLs for individual poets' pages may misbehave for a while till everything settles in. 😉🎄

Christmas message from online poetry journal iamb. Message reads: 'Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Here's to 2026'. There is the website's URL below – iambapoet.com

Tom Weir | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Tom Weir read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'I was no longer sure he was joking –
all these faces appearing on the air,
held at the tipping point where the dim light
strung them up like photographs
above a ground that continued to refuse them ... '

iambapoet.com/wave/24-tom...

Sophia Argyris | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Sophia Argyris read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'Her mother’s moods swim, slow carp.
Her mother’s blue scarf hangs from a hook.
The girl’s fingers curl round the handle

of the back door. She carries two deer,
sand in their joints.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-sop...

Rachel O'Sullivan | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Rachel O'Sullivan read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

' ... seven years ago my little pony had an infected molar
witness to bodily extraction on the other end of the rope
held it slack, the pony he stayed more still when he
knew he could run ... '

iambapoet.com/wave/24-rac...

Pratibha Castle | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Pratibha Castle read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'One more blot
to bloat the image

of a boy’s tobacco
touch improvising
on my ten

year old fanny
as if it was a junk
yard flute.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-pra...

Phoebe Gilmore | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Phoebe Gilmore read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'When I attempt
to atomise, when
I’m a ball of spine
and flinging small
dogs from my throat
across bathroom
tile, figure womb
before as a light
membrane
of a forgotten
sock ... '

iambapoet.com/wave/24-pho...

Morag Smith | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Morag Smith read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'There was a rocking horse, badged school blazers,
savings in the bank, unwrinkled
plastic smiles of vigilance, always ready
for sudden hands descending through the ceiling

or random soldiers at the breakfast table.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-mor...

Laura Warner | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Laura Warner read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

' ... thrusting hips low,
working the beat, the strap of my cami
slipping off my shoulder as I loll on the bonnet
of Zoe’s dad’s car – Zoe’s dad’s eyes
glued to the tarmac as he fumbles
for his keys – I said watch me.
Just watch me.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-lau...

Katrina Moinet | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Katrina Moinet read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'Something gefährlich about his stiffened
finger clasp, fists grasping at oval bone
no shimmer space between your split shapes
your swirls boldly blocked by black, silver, gold.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-kat...

Karen Pierce Gonzalez | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Karen Pierce Gonzalez read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'The entirety of what you say after Daughter drops.

Was it I’m sorry?

forget-me-nots bloom
wild grasses lay down their blades
westerly clouds drift away'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-kar...

John Glenday | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet John Glenday read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'I’ll match your inward quiet, breath for breath.
What else do we have but words and their absences

to bind and unfasten the knotwork of the heart;
to remind us how mutual and alone we are ... '

iambapoet.com/wave/24-joh...

Holly Bars | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Holly Bars read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'Even our blood is noisy,
itching with wishes and achievement
because we’re seventeen,
bright and brilliant
in this beautiful snow blanket
we dress ourselves in
for a night; kiss and talk,
fuck forever.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-hol...

Gill Macdonald | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Gill Macdonald read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'And eyes glittery glassy angry and arty
doe eyes duck eyes don’t give a f*ck eyes
eyes that are troubled and muddy as puddles
or shiny as stars translucent as bubbles ... '

iambapoet.com/wave/24-gil...

Ewan Mackinnon | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Ewan Mackinnon read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'At the funeral,
they stand straight-armed,
unmoved. Thousands of souls
have taken their last journey
on these round shoulders,
their breath like shire horses
in the frosty sunlight.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-ewa...

Elizabeth Gibson | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Elizabeth Gibson read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'The current trend is wild animals, lots of green. It is gender-neutral,
which is welcome, but I worry that the fondant tigers are judging me.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-eli...

Damien B Donnelly | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Damien B Donnelly read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

'we are corroded from birth like the coast
not destined to the constellations – not plough nor star.

We formed words fucked words flung words
but the language was never ours to comprehend.'

iambapoet.com/wave/24-dam...

Damien B Donnelly | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Damien B Donnelly read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-damien-b-donnelly

Elizabeth Gibson | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Elizabeth Gibson read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-elizabeth-gibson

Ewan Mackinnon | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Ewan Mackinnon read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-ewan-mackinnon

Gill Macdonald | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Gill Macdonald read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-gill-macdonald

Holly Bars | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Holly Bars read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-holly-bars

John Glenday | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet John Glenday read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-john-glenday

Karen Pierce Gonzalez | wave 24 | iamb ~ poetry seen and heard Hear poet Karen Pierce Gonzalez read poems exclusively for iamb. If you like The Poetry Archive, this poetry site is for you.

iambapoet.com/wave/24-karen-pierce-gonzalez