Newsletter

silver birches are tenderly dark
Here in the UK we are in the heart of changeable wintery weather and February can often feel heavy, slow, and grey. The light lingers only briefly, and we are required to be patient. But if we look closely, there are glimmers of change. Snowdrops peeking through cold earth and an afternoon light that stretches a little longer. Small sparks that remind us that spring is on its way. These small moments are exactly what Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips explore in their new book Glimmers: Tiny Moments to Transform Your Life. Glimmers are small, everyday... Read more...
Spring will come again
Dear Friends, Recently, with troubling news unfolding all around, it is hard not to feel the weight of it all. At times, that weight can make it difficult to carry on with day-to-day life, and even harder to hold space for ordinary joys and for time with friends and family. In moments like these, we are reminded that courage, in its many forms, remains vital. This week, we’ve been reflecting on the quieter, everyday kinds of bravery: the courage to observe honestly, to feel fully, to speak when silence would be... Read more...
I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment
Dear Friends,It’s a season of sharp winds and unsettled times, yet we keep noticing the quiet courage of people showing up anyway. As winter lingers and the world feels bruised by noise and uncertainty, we’ve been taking comfort in the small, defiant signs of life pushing through the cold. Snowdrops on damp verges, doors being opened, hands still reaching out and we’re reminded that hope often arrives without fanfare. We’ve been thinking too about shelter. About places, people and gestures that offer a pause from the storm. Our York shop is our... Read more...
what wings she has
Dear Friends, I wanted to write to you directly, because many of you have followed the Poetry Pharmacy for a long time, not just as a shop, but as a place that has tried to support poetry as something shared and lived, through readings, open mics, and gathering together, rather than something that only exists on the page. It still feels quietly radical to insist on books, poetry, and kind attention in the middle of busy streets, and to keep offering space for readings, open mics, and gatherings, simply because they matter.From... Read more...
sail through this to that
Happy New Year from all of us at the Poetry PharmacyDear Friends,As the year turns, we wanted to pause and send you our heartfelt thanks for being part of the Poetry Pharmacy world.This past year has been a challenging one for many small businesses, and we have been so grateful to you for showing up. Grateful to those of you that came to events, readings and open mics, that read our newsletters, shared poems and passed on kind words. You shared our posts, ordered from our website, left thoughtful reviews, sent... Read more...
they clearly flew instead of fell
  (Photo shows poetry in the waiting room St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, Chest & Allergy Clinic)  Please Help Us to Bring Poetry to the High Street Dear Friends, As we step into a new year, with all its change, hope and possibility, I wanted to write to you about a new chapter for the Poetry Pharmacy. This spring, we will open a new shop in York, bringing poetry and the idea of words for wellbeing to a busy city street and giving it a permanent home there. It is something we have... Read more...
round suns wintering on the table
Happy Christmas from all of us at the Poetry Pharmacy At this time of year, when the days are at their darkest and the world can feel heavy with difficult news, we find ourselves returning to the small, steady things that endure. Lights lit against the dark, kindness, the simple act of gathering, remembering, and being hopeful together. Across cultures and faiths, people mark this season with light; a candle, a lamp, a star in the window as a way of saying we are still here, and we still care for one... Read more...
singing, dancing, to drive the dark away
people singing, dancing, to drive the dark away(Susan Cooper, “The Shortest Day”)In Bishop’s Castle we had the great switch on of the Christmas lights, tractors draped in fairy lights rumbling past in a joyful procession, lanterns glowing, live music floating through the streets and fireworks were launched above our tiny town. The primary school children sang carols, we drank mulled wine and friends hugged. Everyone mucked in. It was all glitter and goodwill in the very best small town way.And how different it might seem from our sister Poetry Pharmacy in Oxford... Read more...
their wings are bright windows
Breath, Calm, and a New Collaboration with St Mary’s HospitalAs the year draws in and the light fades towards winter, we have been thinking a great deal about breath. The breath that carries our words. The breath that steadies us in moments of anxiety. The breath that connects us to our bodies when life feels tight in the chest.The Poetry Pharmacy has been working with St Mary's Hospital chest & allergy clinic, Imperial College NHS Trust in Paddington, to bring four carefully chosen poems into the waiting room of the Chest Clinic. These... Read more...
white into the icy air
Extract from Winter MorningBut if I pause as I do now,and watch the streetlights outside flashingoff one by one like old men blinking theircloudy eyes, if I listen to my tired neighborsslamming car doors hard against the morningand see the steaming coffee in their mugskissing chapped lips as they sip andexhale each of their worries white intothe icy air around their faces—then I canremember this one life is a gift each of uswas handed and told to open: Untie the bowand tear off the paper, look insideand be grateful for whatever... Read more...
wonder upon wonder
Welcome to the Poetry Pharmacy's newsletter! Here you will find upcoming events, new and featured books, poems, prescriptions, and panaceas. A Welcome Above Oxford StreetThis week, we’re shining a light on our Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street, a little sanctuary perched above the busiest street in London.At Christmas, London feels especially magical, with its lights, bustle, and the joy of finding just the right thing for someone you love. One of the quiet strengths of our space is the people in it: our staff are all poets, kind listeners who know... Read more...
I love the smell of oranges best
Poetry Across BordersThis week we're writing to you from the International Book Fair in Sharjah, as guests of the Sharjah Book Authority. Our special thanks go to our new good friends Moza Al Rand and Mohammad Al Houli, with whom we have been working these last few months and to their team for the warm welcome and friendship. We've been enjoying so many wonderful and exciting conversations from all over the world, and have been reminded of how literature and poetry are so often about the opening of doors, crossing borders of language,... Read more...