Joe Williams is an award-winning writer and performing poet from Leeds. He tells tales about lost love, people in pubs, and the best ways to insult footballers in Spanish. His latest book, The Taking Part, published by Maytree Press in 2021, is a short collection of poems on the theme of sport and games. His previous book publications are the critically acclaimed pamphlet This is Virus, composed of erasure poems made from Boris Johnson’s lockdown letter to the UK; the verse novella An Otley Run, which was shortlisted for a Saboteur Award; and his debut poetry pamphlet Killing the Piano.
His poems and short stories have been included in numerous anthologies, in magazines online and in print, and broadcast on BBC Radio. He won the Open Mic Competition at Ilkley Literature Festival in 2017, and is the founder and host of Words on the Wall in Hexham.
Despite all of that, he is probably most widely read thanks to his contributions to Viz.
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
My Account
Latest Poems
kevin halls
18th March 2024
Richard Williams
18th March 2024
joe morris
18th March 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
17th March 2024
joe morris
17th March 2024
Clik The Mouse
14th March 2024
joe morris
14th March 2024
joe morris
10th March 2024
joe morris
6th March 2024
Denys E. W. Jones
3rd March 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
29th January 2024 at 10:03 pm
Hi Crispin,
How are you doing mate? Yes, you’re probably right but hey football is all about emotion and passion and I just love writing about the game. I try to keep my poetry to a reasonable length but there’s so much to write about the game and its literature just lends itself naturally to poetry. Sometimes I just get completely carried and I do apologise for the length of my poetry but it’s a great thrill to be associated with Football Poets.
Cheers mate
Joe
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10th January 2024 at 7:52 pm
You’re right of course Joe but…..it’s actually more of a big welcome break for everyone who is not into Premier League ..I’m talking fans of EFL National League and below…..
Btw …is this actually your longest poem ever !?
Best
Crispin
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8th January 2024 at 4:45 pm
Thanks!
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8th January 2024 at 10:42 am
There’s something so evocative and nostalgic for football fans the world over, in ‘revisiting’ old lost grounds.
Occasionally some remnants remain, with perhaps part of a wall or part or a stand or thre shape of a terrace, but often they are only still there in faded images and in our heads..
Great stuff Graham
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4th January 2024 at 10:13 am
A great idea and well executed. Thanks Graham.
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19th November 2023 at 1:45 pm
Thanks Gacina, glad you liked it, and I have just posted a new one about our points deduction…
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7th November 2023 at 6:34 pm
Today B.B.C post on F.B was titled:Premier League reduced to 18 clubs? I really think it may be interesting to see if this would be Everton’s nightmare and this poem is well suited for this concern.If there would be more difficult battle to stay if there were 18 teams.Great poem and somehow true.
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6th November 2023 at 4:43 pm
Ashington FC have launched a £50,000 Crowdfunder appeal to meet the increased costs of winning promotion last season, to pay for urgent stadium improvements, travel costs and equipment
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31st October 2023 at 4:26 pm
‘Three Teams Worse Than Us’ from our Toffee friend Denys in Italy, also sums up how FGR fans currently feel. Yes, in our case, with two going down to the Conference, it could be entitled ‘Two Teams Worse Than Us’, but three would make us feel even safer.
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6th October 2023 at 11:49 pm
Enjoy it while you can, although I’m sure Mbappe could well be bound for St James
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