Telltale Poets

June 25, 2025

It was warm at West Greenwich Library last night – in every way. A couple of fans ensured the right temperature in the room, and the warmth of the audience and of course of the three featured poets was palpable and comfortable.

Robin Houghton, Peter Kenny and Sarah Barnsley are the core part of Telltale, an innovative poetry collective (temporarily on hiatus) that a few years ago ‘seized the means of poetry production’. More about them and it below.

The first half of the evening saw Robin, Peter and Sarah read from their published books – in Robin’s case, a very recent one, The Mayday Diaries (Pindrop Press, May 2025), so a virtual launch…

Such different voices, moods, modes and styles, they had us spellbound. The texts, as always, were projected on the Library screen; and there were images as well, essential to understand the ekphrastic poems better. Or, in two of Sarah’s poems, their actual structure.

After the interval Robin, Peter and Sarah spoke about the birth of Telltale, the philosophy behind it and its successful history. Also of the poetry podcast that Robin and Peter launched during lockdown, and which is still going on, involving many known names in the ‘business’. It’s called ‘Planet Poetry’, do check it out!

I’ll write some more if I can before I go on holiday and after I’ve fully digested the wonderful poetic fare of last night.

In the meantime, here are some photos and more information about each poet, their publications and Telltale.

Here we are – Robin, Peter, Sarah and myself
Robin, Peter and Sarah talking about Telltale
Attentive listening….

Robin Houghton (robinhoughtonpoetry.co.uk) is the author of four poetry pamphlets including Why? And Other Questions (Live Canon, 2020) which was a winner of the Live Canon Pamphlet Competition 2019. Her work is published in many magazines including Mslexia, The Rialto and Poetry News, and is widely anthologised.  She was awarded the Hamish Canham Prize from the Poetry Society in 2013. She co-founded Telltale Press with Peter Kenny and their current collaboration is the podcast Planet Poetry (planetpoetrypodcast.com) begun during the 2020 pandemic. Robin compiles and distributes a free spreadsheet of poetry magazines submission details, updated every quarter. Her first full collection The Mayday Diaries was published by Pindrop Press in May 2025.

Peter Kenny (peterkenny.co.uk) co-hosts the Planet Poetry podcast with Robin Houghton. Poetry publications include Mariscat Sampler One (Mariscat Press 2024), Snow (Hedgehog Poetry Press 2024), Sin Cycle (e.ratio, New York 2020), The Nightwork (Telltale Press 2014) and A Guernsey Double (2010, Guernsey Arts Commission). His dark fiction short stories have appeared in Supernatural Tales, Horla, Frogmore Papers – and US publications. His six comedy plays, including A Glass of Nothing, have been performed in London, Brighton and Edinburgh. 

Sarah Barnsley’s most recent book is The Thoughts, (Smith|Doorstop, 2022) and her edition of Mary Barnard’s Complete Poems and Selected Translations will be published in June 2025 by SUNY Press. Sarah is currently writing a collection of poems on queerness and the therapeutic encounter.

Telltale Press (telltalepress.co.uk) is a poets’ publishing collective founded in 2014 by Robin Houghton and Peter Kenny. Three more poets joined the press, including Sarah Barnsley.  Catherine Smith joined them as Associate Editor and Carol Ann Duffy agreed to be their patron. Their aim was to ‘seize the means of poetry production’: they published each other’s debut pamphlets, which served as ‘calling cards’ to help get their work out there and win the attention of publishers. It certainly worked, since all members went on to have collections published by other poetry presses. Between 2014 and 2018 Telltale also hosted numerous readings in London, Brighton and Lewes featuring guest poets, culminating in an anthology Truths. Telltale Press is currently on hiatus while they consider ways to take it forward.

Events

Tuesday March 24 at West Greenwich Library, 7 for 7.30
‘HOME’ – poetry with Susannah Hart, NJ Hynes and Rosie Johnston – and music with harpist Lucia Foti

Great favourites bringing on spring 2026 on the theme of ‘HOME’ in their own words and in those of past and contemporary poets, plus some glorious music. Here’s some info about them:

Susannah Hart has been widely published in magazines and online, including Smiths Knoll, Poetry Review, PN Review and Finished Creatures. Her first collection Out of True won the Live Canon First Collection Prize and her poem Reading the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy won the 2019 National Poetry Competition. Susannah is on the board of Magma Poetry and is also a trustee of Poetry in Aldeburgh, where she coordinates the schools programme. She lives in London with her husband, is a longstanding governor of her local primary school and in her spare time is trying without much success to learn Japanese.

NJ Hynes lived and worked in South London for over 30 years but has recently relocated to East Sussex. Before moving to the UK, she lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a part of the US currently under siege from Trump’s private army, bringing to the front notions of home, allegiance and belonging. Her first collection The Department of Emotional Projections won Live Canon’s inaugural First Collection competition in 2014. Her latest pamphlet Tracking Light, Stacking Time, written in response to the astrophotography exhibited each year at the National Maritime Museum, was published by Live Canon in 2023. In between, she’s published in numerous journals, including Rialto, The Long Poem Magazine, Brittle Star and Under the Radar. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post as well as at train stations, art galleries and Soho shop fronts. 

Rosie Johnston’s fifth poetry book is Safe Ground, published by Mica Press last year. It traces Rosie’s search for safety from a tricky upbringing in Troubles Belfast to peace and a sense of home where she now lives near Margate. Her four earlier collections were published by Lapwing Publications (Belfast). Rosie’s main themes are home, and nature’s place in our recovery from trauma. Her poetry is anthologised by Live Canon, Arlen House, OneWorld’s Places of Poetry anthology, Fevers of the Mind and American Writers Review. Her poems have appeared in The Phare, Snakeskin, London Grip, Culture NI, The Honest Ulsterman, Mary Evans Picture Library’s Poems and Pictures blog and Fevers of the Mind. Rosie reads her poetry widely, most recently at the Faversham Literary Festival. She runs informal groups for writers in all genres and is currently developing ‘writing buddy’ or ‘quiet writing’ groups several times a month. www.rosiejohnstonwrites.com

Lucia Foti is a London-based Italian harpist. After graduating with first class honours from the Conservatorio di Como, she completed her Master’s, graduating with distinction from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Lucia has won several national and international prizes, including first prize the 2012 Concours Français de la Harpe and the 2015 Soroptimist Italia Competition for Young Talents, and more recently, third prize at the 2024 Manchester Harp Competition. She performs solo with professional orchestras, has performed at Kings Place and can be heard regularly at Cadogan Hall and St John’s Smith Square with the Young Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra. Lucia and guitarist Stefano Fiacco have partnered to form the Nazca Duo, and in 2023 they have been awarded the Colin Blythe Bursary Fund in recognition of their achievement in chamber music.

Free as always, plenty of refreshments!

Tuesday May 5 [NEW DATE!] at West Greenwich Library, 7 for 7.30

PINDROP PRESS triple launch: Alex Josephy, Emily Wills and Sharon Black present their new collections, hot off the [Pindrop] press!

More info soon.

Tuesday June 9 at West Greenwich Library, 7 for 7.30: Robert Seatter presents ‘RIVER – Poems for the River Thames, from source to sea’

This year marks 30 years of the Thames Path, creating unique access to England’s most important and much loved river. RIVER will take you on a new and visceral journey, from source to sea, unpacking encounters en route and revealing the extraordinary emotional pull of the Thames in our lives.

Robert Seatter is writer in residence on this fascinating project, writing 30 short poems for key locations along the river’s 200 mile route, including Greenwich. Poems will be accessed via QR codes on the footpath finger posts, realised in audio, plus available in a hand-printed, limited edition book.
Join Robert to hear more as well as to share your own memories and stories of the Thames over time.
Robert has published eight poetry collections, and has won many awards and nominations for his poetry, including National Poetry Competition, London Poetry and Forward Poetry Prize. He is also a skilled poetry curator, with a specific interest in poetry and place making, as well as an arts professional with experience of chairing both The Poetry Trust and The Poetry Archive. He lives in London, where he works for the BBC, his most recent role being Head of BBC History. www.robertseatter.co.uk