Editors of an upcoming poetry anthology entitled These Are The Hands are calling for NHS staff and medical students to submit a poem for inclusion.

The anthology will feature leading poets including Michael Rosen – who will also sit on the judging panel – Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Kate Clanchy, Molly Case and Sabrina Mahfouz. 

All proceeds from the anthology will go to NHS Charities Together, the association that supports NHS charities across the country – including Above & Beyond as the official charity of UH Bristol.

These Are The Hands: Poetry Workshop

To celebrate the release of the anthology, Above & Beyond is working with #UHBristolArts Poet in Residence Beth Calverley to put on two free poetry workshops. Beth specialises in empowering people to think, act and write more creatively and over the course of a 1.5 hour workshop, she will give tips and exercises that will guide UH Bristol staff and students through the process of writing a poem.

The poetry workshops will take place on Tuesday 10 September, from 4:30pm to 6:00pm (Session 1) and 6:15pm to 7:45pm (Session 2), at DeliMarché on Level 9 of the BRI.   

If you're interested in taking part in one of the free poetry workshops, please click on the link below to register and let us know which one you wish to attend:

Register for These Are The Hands: Poetry Workshop

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Rules for poem submission

To enter the These Are The Hands anthology competition you must be a current or past NHS staff member in a clinical or non-clinical role. You are able to enter a maximum of two poems, each no longer than 35 lines. All submissions are welcome, with theme suggestions as follow:

• the NHS
• your own experiences of your work (positive and negative)
• health
• illness
• beginnings
• endings
• hope
• the other side (your own experience as a patient or that of someone close to you)

The deadline to enter the competition is Saturday 14 September and poems should be emailed to [email protected]. Full 'Rules for Submission' can be found here: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/49LX-5T9/bigger-picture

Submissions to competition

If you do submit a poem, we would love to share it with Above & Beyond supporters on social media.

Please email [email protected] with your entry.

[Pictured: Above & Beyond funded #UHBristolArts Poet in Residence Beth Calverley, Chief Operator of The Poetry Machine.]