Ugly Bird

Ugly Bird is bolshy and funny and unapologetic. With subjects ranging from public nudity and polyamorous dunnocks to women who run with wolves, these tender poems appreciate human relationships and the natural world, without shying away from difficult conversations around toxic masculinity and mental health. Ugly Bird is tough enough to stand its ground and look you in the eye: 'I'm not perfect, and in no way do I want to be.'

Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith is a member of Hive's Poetry Collective and the Writing Squad. Her work has been published in various anthologies including She Will Soar (Pan MacMillan 2020). She was a Foyle Young Poet of the Year, and highly commended in the Young Northern Writers Award in 2019. She's performed at various festivals including the Ted Hughes Festival, Off the Shelf Festival of Words and the Sheaf Poetry Festival. She studies English and French at Oxford University.