Tim Barlow Writes

17/05/2026

I'm excited to be supporting the brilliant Andy Riley and James Dom Estic this Thursday, 21st May at The Bell in Ticehurst. Great poetry guaranteed - get there if you can! Tickets: https://www.thebellinticehurst.com/asp-products/andy-riley-james-domestic/

14/05/2026

Minister of Poetry required! In a last-ditch attempt to improve his popularity, the Prime Minister has created a new Department of Poetry. Candidates for the position of Minister of Poetry are invited to an open audition at Twelve Hundred Postcards, Hastings, tonight (Thursday 14th May), starting at 7:30pm, hosted by Tim Barlow. Everyone welcome!

07/05/2026

Thank you Victoria Kingham for the review of Henry Normal's and my new poetry books in this week's Hastings Independent...
https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/articles/culture/arts/conflict-and-contemplation-a-manufactured-thrill-and-quiet-promise/

03/05/2026

Lovely afternoon at Ringmer Library yesterday, performing poetry with Henry Normal. The library is independent, supported by the local community and run by the wonderful Liz and her team of volunteers.

22/04/2026

We're delighted to have performance poets Henry Normal and Tim Barlow joining us at Ringmer Village Hall & Library on 2nd May at 2:30.
Tickets are just £5, which includes excellent entertainment, tea and biscuits.
Message us, email [email protected] or pop into the library to book your tickets.

Ringmer Village News

19/04/2026

Captions are auto-generated 😆

05/01/2026

A Load of Poets is kicking off 2026 this Thursday!

Happy New Year poets, poetry lovers and the poetry-curious!

Please come to our FREE monthly spoken word open mic night on Thursday January 8th, 2026 at 7:30pm, at Twelve Hundred Postcards, 80 Queens Road, Hastings (opposite Morrisons petrol station).

If you'd like to perform, slots are always available on the night; just collar this month's friendly host, Steve Brown. Everyone welcome, including those who just want to watch, listen and drink!

17/12/2025

A festive poem for my Hastings friends...!

There’s a Christmas tree on Robertson Street.
It’s tall and it’s bright and unnaturally neat;
it’s caused quite a stir
‘cause it isn’t a fir -
it’s a man-made mechanical feat.

It’s manufactured of metal and plastic;
and while some people think it’s fantastic,
others revile
its modernist style -
they’re less than enthusiastic.

On social media, arguments rage.
There’s conflict all over the letters page
of the local press;
is the tree a mess?
Or a sign of an enlightened age?

Is it brutalist, alienating abstraction?
Or an eco-friendly civic attraction?
Subversive and punk,
Or avant-garde junk?
It depends on your friends and your faction.

So the matter continues to cause consternation;
if opposing groups don't receive arbitration
they’ll argue and fight
right up to Twelfth Night
about Robertson Street’s bloody Christmas decoration.

*
Photo credit: Marta Munoz