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Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of The Emergency Poet anthology
This September marks a very special milestone for us. On the 25th, The Emergency Poet – An Anti-Stress Poetry Anthology will be reissued, ten years after it first made its way into the hands and hearts of readers.
First published in 2015, the anthology quickly became (in poetry terms) a bestseller, with over 30,000 copies sold. It offered a new kind of poetic medicine — a carefully prescribed dose of verse for those feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and in need of solace and reassurance. Its success helped usher in a wave of poetry-as-remedy collections, including Stressed–Unstressed (2016) and The Poetry Pharmacy (2017), marking the start of a quiet revolution in how we turn to poems for comfort and solace.
We’re proud to see The Emergency Poet return to print, more needed than ever, and just as full of comfort and healing as it was a decade ago. This beautiful reprint is available and signed by Deborah from us here.
'I grew up on a North London council estate where poetry, if it was ever considered at all, was thought of as 'poncy' ...not for the likes of us.
The poems I have prescribed in these pages are all tried and tested - certain to offer empathy, guidance and relieve stress. They have been given to people in hospitals and care homes, at events in libraries and schools, and to people at festivals, and in town centres who have wandered into the back of my old ambulance for a little poetry therapy and gentle conversation'.
Deborah Alma, from the introduction.
This week's subject line is taken from the poem The Word by Tony Hoagland and it's included in the anthology.
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The first bottle of poetry pills, Poemcetamol, was Deb's idea for people who didn't have time for a full consultation and they made their first appearance at The Poetry Parnassus in 2012, (The ambulance is 54 seconds in to this little video) with a whole range of poetic medicines to follow. The poetic medications were dispensed from the Cold Comfort Pharmacy, as it was called in those early days, under an attached awning, with Nurse Verse helping visitors to self-prescribe.
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A Little Prescription for You
For one week only, enjoy 10% off all our products with the code EmergencyPoet10 at checkout.
For our newsletter readers only every order placed before Friday 6th September will also be entered into a special draw to win:
A signed copy of The Emergency Poet: An Anti-Stress Poetry Anthology
A personal consultation with Deborah Alma — online, or in person at the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishop’s Castle.
Offer ends at midnight on 6th September — one week only.
A gentle remedy: poetry for every mood.
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A Wellbeing Toolkit
There are many ways to support our mental health, and we love the School of Life for their thoughtful, engaging tools and games designed to do just that. Their Emotional First Aid Kit provides practical, thoughtful guidance for some of life’s most challenging moments. It won’t solve everything, but it can help you respond with calm and clarity when things feel tricky or overwhelming.
An artful collection of the words the wisest, kindest, and most experienced people might offer if they were beside you in a crisis. From moments of self-doubt to difficulties in friendship, love, work, or everyday stress, this kit offers insight, reassurance and comfort when it’s needed most.
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Breath and Verse: Unlock your creative flow
Discover how controlled breath can guide you through your inner landscape, revealing new insights and igniting your most authentic, creative expression.
Prepare to breathe, reflect, and release the vibrant world within you.
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Explore the life and work of 19th-Century
Romantic Poet John Clare
I found the poems in the fields. And only wrote them down - John Clare
John Clare was a nineteenth-century poet who had little formal education but who wrote about his lived experience of nature in detailed and beautiful poems. He also lamented changes in the agrarian world which foreshadow present day concerns about loss of habitat. He wrote movingly about his own sense of alienation and profound loneliness.
Come and join Jan in a guided exploration of Clare’s poetry, his life and the times he lived in.
"The greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self." - Jonathan Bate
Autumn Birds
The wild duck startles like a sudden thought,
And heron slow as if it might be caught.
The flopping crows on weary wings go by
And grey beard jackdaws noising as they fly.
The crowds of starnels whizz and hurry by,
And darken like a clod the evening sky.
The larks like thunder rise and suthy round,
Then drop and nestle in the stubble ground.
The wild swan hurries hight and noises loud
With white neck peering to the evening clowd.
The weary rooks to distant woods are gone.
With lengths of tail the magpie winnows on
To neighbouring tree, and leaves the distant crow
While small birds nestle in the edge below.
John Clare
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A gentle walk with poetry readings, beautiful views of the Shropshire hills and tea and cake to finish
Saturday 4th October 2025,10:30-1pm
Bishops Castle
Join poet Jonathan Davidson for a Poetry Walk starting and finishing at The Poetry Pharmacy Lab in Bishop's Castle.
Using a circular route, we will stroll along small roads and footpaths, stopping now and then to hear some poems read aloud in the open air. Copies of poems – by various carefully selected poets – will be provided, although participants are welcome to bring along short poems of their own to share.
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A gentle walk through Literary London
to restore and inspire
Thursday 16th October 2025, 6-7pm
Oxford Street
Join Liz Ison on a journey of exploration through literary St James, uncovering the hidden histories and stories of London’s writers and poets such as William Blake, Lord Byron, Samuel Pepys and Ignatius Sancho.
We’ll be bringing poetry and literature off the bookshelves and outside by spending time in one of the capital’s most beautiful parks, St James Park, seeing how the combined power of poetry and parks can help us to relax and unwind, before further literary wanderings through the districts of St James and Piccadilly, ending up at the Poetry Pharmacy in Oxford Street.
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Join award-winning novelist, poet and broadcaster Salena Godden to celebrate her latest collection
Thursday 16th October 2025, 6-7pm
Oxford Street
Join us to celebrate the paperback launch of Salena Godden’s powerful poetry collection With Love, Grief and Fury. Salena will be reading from the book, which moves between love and loss, truth and resistance, offering poems that comfort, inspire, and ignite hope.
Over thirty years after she first stormed the UK poetry scene, Salena has created her most audacious and definitive collection yet.
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Explore the richness of our inner and outer landscapes
Sunday 2nd November 2025, 10.30-3pm
Bishops Castle
Join poets Roz Goddard and Jane Commane for a poetry spa morning of workshops and readings. We will explore the richness of our inner and outer landscapes where new creative ideas can spontaneously arise and be used for experiments in writing poetry.
“Roz Goddard is one of my favourite poets and Small Moon Curve shines with all that I admire in her poems: mystery, beauty, deep tenderness and a willingness to venture into the dark and light it with love.” – Liz Berry
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Join Tom and Rozi for an intensive poetry weekend
Join Tom Hirons and Rozi Hilton for a weekend intensive in the territory of what they call the Feral Angels of Poetry: poetry with its blazing head in the cosmos and its feet in the muck and murk of this world. Immersive, alive, embodied and richly experiential, these are not your average poetry weekends.
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Personalised poems crafted on a vintage typewriter
Jen is an award-winning poet and creative copywriter who transforms feelings, memories and ideas into heartfelt, personalised poetry. At her regular drop in events at the Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street, she crafts bespoke poems live on her trusty vintage typewriter, capturing individual stories and emotions and turning them into unique keepsakes.
“Jen is an exceptionally talented writer. Her poetry conjures such vivid images that transport you somewhere else, and the way she puts words together is a beautiful art in itself.” Ceri, Poem recipient
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From travelling as the Emergency Poet, to opening
the world's first walk in Poetry Pharmacy
Join our own Deb Alma in conversation with local poet Juliette Hart, discussing Deb's journey from the Emergency Poet to the Poetry Pharmacy. The event will include a live poetry consultation and some readings from The Poetry Prescription anthologies, including poetic cures for life’s ailments.
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Hear from speakers, panel members and poets who are redefining poetry’s role in wellbeing and professional practice
The Poetry in Business Conference explores how poetry can inspire leadership, creativity, and wellbeing in the workplace. Through talks, panels, and live readings, leading thinkers and poets will share how language can help organisations embrace uncertainty, nurture resilience, and build human-centred cultures.
As part of the conference, our very own Deb Alma will be joined by the CEO of LUSH, Mark Constantine, to explore how poetry can serve as an unexpected but powerful tool for thoughtful decision-making in business. Expect an interesting conversation about the creative role poetry can play in both life and leadership.
Take a look at our Poetry in Business Conference 2025 bookshop.org list of recommended titles from speakers at this inaugural and ground-breaking conference.
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Thank you so much for reading.
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