Poetry ‘taking flight’

The judges / editors Willo Drummond, Ali Whitelock and Rose Lucas hosted the zoom room at the launch of Poetry of Flight

A gallery of poets reading:
L-R row 1 Nikki Viveca, Ynes Sanz, Michael Leach, Chelsea Avard
L-R row 2 Young Dawkins, Es Foong, Kim Kenyon, Simone King
L-R row 3 Hannah McCann, Indrani Perera, David Regan, Sam Boswell

Rae White does the honours with a wonderful launch speech

Softcover (if you’d rather turn than swipe)
or PDF (perfect if your bookshelves are groaning).

Team effort. Thanks to everyone who entered the prize; to all the poets on the Longlist (and now in the anthology), and those who read on the evening; to the judges/editors Rose Lucas, Ali Whitelock and Willo Drummond; to Sharon Monagle for her image which was part of the Prize prompts and now on the cover of the book; to Dave Hughes for his design work; and to Rae White for their endorsement, and the launch itself.

Soaring elements of human experience

I came away feeling that I had spent the evening wrapped in velvety blankets of poetry! I’ll have that feeling again anytime! So, my thanks to you all for such an affirming and enjoyable experience. Here’s to another great year of poeting in 2026.

How we enjoyed sharing the Zoom space to hear Rae White launch Poetry of Flight and listen to many of the poets reading.

Fab poetic talent, an hour of new top-shelf poetry, and a really grand launch speech.

Rae’s speech will be published in Rochford Street Review soon, so keep a look-out.

The 2025 Liquid Amber Poetry Prize invited poets to respond to the theme of ‘flight’, and this anthology contains the fifty-one poems in the Longlist of the Prize, including the winners.

These poems take inspired flight in multiple directions. They fearlessly explore various forms of darkness and inequity to be escaped from as well as what lifts the heart into ecstasy and hope. Once again, the language of poetry shows itself to be a powerful means of expressing the deepest – and the most soaring – elements of human experience.

Buy the book - softcover or digital