Gail Webb is a poet and workshop leader based in Nottingham. She is originally from a small mining community in South Wales. Gail hosts open mic night Poetry Cocktail and looks forward to reviving it.
In 2018 Gail started writing at a time when she was experiencing loss, grief, health issues and other life challenges. Leaving a 33 year career in social care was difficult, but also an opportunity. Gail performed her poem Poets Arise! at the Nottingham Poetry Festival opening night that year and hasn’t looked back.
Since then, Gail’s work has been published in international feminist journal Boshemia and in several national anthologies, including @VisualVerse, Yaffle Press, Siren Poets, topics ranging from writer George Eliot to nature, climate change and refugees and asylum seekers.
In 2021 Gail won Nottingham Playhouse’ Reflections Poetry Award with her poem “ Sky Mirror”, about Anish Kapoor’s sculpture and the 20th anniversary of its installation.
2021 saw the publication by @BigWhiteShed of Gail’s first poetry pamphlet, “The Thrill Of Jumping In”. Gail welcomed Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey to read at this launch. To date money from sales has raised £500 for Maggies Nottingham , cancer support services. Also that year, Gail was commissioned by Derby Theatre to write and perform new work for Derby Poetry Festival.
Gail is keen to share her poetry experience with others. Writing is part of that craft but she also actively engages with collective writing groups, spoken word performance, local community and poetry projects. Gail has worked with collective WORD! and is a member of DIY Poets, Paper Crane Collective, World Jam and Gobs Collective. Gail performed with Gobs for their Moon Showcase, 2022.
This year Gail has been a shadow poet as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival’s Poetry Walk and featured with poet Henry Normal in his Inspire Libraries Tour. She is also Poet In Residence for LadyBayArtsTrail, producing commissioned work, creating a community poem, leading a walking poetry workshop and editing a zine.
Gail regularly supports the writing group at Maggies and has also delivered workshops at Nottingham Women’s Centre and a nature writing workshop for Green Hustle. Gail is a member of Nottingham Writers Studio.
“ The blood jet is Poetry. There is no stopping it “
from Kindness, Sylvia Plath
POETRE 