Contemporary Poetry Criticism: In/Ex-clusive?

The UK’s poetry criticism landscape is often rife with rifts, challenges, and, of course, criticism. Who can forget the divisive and notorious article, ‘The Cult of the Noble Amateur,’ written by Rebecca Watts in the PN Review, 2018, where Watts begins by asking ‘Why is the poetry world pretending that poetry is not an art form?’ We could talk all day about this question, but let’s leave it to our panel to decide: is the exclusivity and traditionality of the infamous article still at the heart of poetry criticism, or is the field a more inclusive place than we were led to believe?

Our panel includes Ledbury Poetry Critic Isabelle Baafi, publisher and long-time reviewer at HappenStance Helena Nelson, Director of VERVE Poetry Press and Festival Stuart Bartholomew, and the acclaimed academic and critic, David Wheatley. Chaired by Contributing Editor at The White Review, Jay Gao, this promises to be a lively and challenging discussion.