At the Fraying Edge of History

In a small pub just outside Derby, mid-December 2018, four poets met in order to see if they could rekindle the Poetry Society’s Derby Stanza. The group had been defunct for a little while, and the notion to try and breathe new life into it came from one of the four, newly moved into the area for work.

Nearly six years later - and Covid notwithstanding - the Stanza continues to flourish.

By summer the following year the group had grown to a membership of six - all of whom remain in 2024 (and are represented in this anthology). The move to Zoom as a result of the pandemic did little to dampen the group’s enthusiasm (or its gradual growth into double figures), and we have been thriving ever since.

If there are two striking aspects to the Derby Stanza, the first is the variety of voice and style in the collective’s poetry, and the second is in the quality of that work. Perhaps it has taken us too long to pull this anthology together - yet maybe it is all the stronger for those additional months of practice and honing our craft.

There is something for everyone in At the Fraying Edge of History - we hope you enjoy it.