“Sheer Poetry!”

As broadcast on the Today programme on Radio 4 earlier this week, we feature the poem Silver Lining by Carol Ann Duffy. The UK Poet Laureate responds to the impact of the volcanic ash from Iceland which has grounded air traffic throughout the northern hemisphere.

Owen Sheers writes about his experience visiting the First World War battlefield in Mametz, France and what inspired him to create the poem named after the site.

Read Mametz Wood in the GCSE section.

Written in response to the news that celebrated English footballer David Beckham would not be able to play for England in 2010 due to an injured Achilles heel, and first published in Carol Ann Duffy's column in the Daily Mirror, you can now read Achilles in the General Reader.

We're pleased to welcome Robert Minhinnick, another writer whose work features in the GCSE section.

He has written on the background to the poem 'The Yellow Palm' and discusses his design and intention for its style in the The Yellow Palm in the GSCE section.

We'e thrilled to have Daljit Nagra on board, and he has written about the background to his poem Singh Song! for our GCSE section. He offers his insights on the Indian corner shop, and the impact of the English Music Hall tradition.

You can read what Daljit Nagra has to say in Singh Song!.

For St Valentine’s Day, Carol Ann Duffy has written a new article about the love poetry which has inspired and enthralled poets and their audience for thousands of years, exclusively for Sheer Poetry.

You can find the article in the Carol Ann Duffy section of the General Reader: Love Poetry.

Delayed due to the rebuilding of the site, we now publish another entry in Gillian Clarke's Journal in the General Reader. Written during the closing weeks of 2009, her theme is the swan and its significance in her poetry.

“For a year I have observed a family of mute swans. I haven’t see them every day, or even every week, but I have watched them at regular intervals throughout one year of their lives on the river Ely, in Cardiff.”

All Lost Things Lie Under Closing Water

Sheerpoetry.co.uk is now fully accessible without subscription from today.

This means that you no longer need to log in to read hundreds of pages on the poetry of Gillian Clarke, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage, Seamus Heaney and others.

If you want to add a comment to any of the pages or use the new forum which we will be setting up shortly, you will still need to register and create a new account.

The Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Poetry Live have invited 20 of our leading poets to perform at Westminster Central Hall on Saturday January 30th 2010 at 2.30pm in a fundraising event for the people of Haiti.

Poets include Carol Ann Duffy, Roger McGough, Andrew Motion, John Agard, Dannie Abse, Brian Patten, Gillian Clarke, Imtiaz Dharker, Grace Nichols, Elaine Feinstein, Daljit Nagra, Ian Duhig, Lachlan Mackinnon, Owen Sheers, Glyn Maxwell, Jo Shapcott, Robin Robertson, Colette Bryce, Maura Dooley and Robert Minhinnick, along with the musicians John Sampson and Andy Roberts.

Sheer Poetry has been running for four years using subscriptions to fund the hosting and maintenance of the site. In 2010 we plan to change. The site will be funded by advertising and access will be free and unrestricted. And yes, we'll try to keep the advertising discreet and appropriate!

We'd like to thank all those of you whose subscriptions have supported us over the years. Keep visiting and and we'll keep developing and growing the site.