On #worldbookday Iβm celebrating 10 books Iβve published since I was 44 β 9 poetry collections +1 novel.4 were shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize, 1 for Forward Prize, 1 won Laurel & RSL Ondaatje Prize. 2 shortlisted for WBoTY So if youβre in your forties wondering if it will ever happen β it can
05.03.2026 14:57
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Itβs okay to take time out from writing, to just live and rest, do other work, let your imagination breathe.
04.03.2026 20:39
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@resurgencetrust.bsky.social
@bloodaxebooks.bsky.social
25.02.2026 08:09
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if we really loved people we wouldnβt let so many suffer β I am sure our work on earth is to learn love and empathy. Art and poetry helps us in that goal as itβs made from an impulse of love and wonder of the world
20.02.2026 10:25
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Bad Betty Live, 20th March
A dynamic night of live poetry and music, showcasing exciting acts from Notts, the UK and beyond in a warm, inclusive setting. BSL signed.
Beast is going to Nottingham! Iβll be reading for Bad Betty Live at the New Art Exchange 6pm Friday 20 March, with Wayne Holloway-Smith, Malaika Kegode, Rick Dove and HilΓ‘rio Alves.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bad-betty-...
17.02.2026 08:37
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A group of Buddhist monks has finally reached Washington, D.C., on foot, completing a 15-week trek for peace from Texas apnews.com/article/budd...
10.02.2026 14:50
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Excited to share the striking cover of PAIN SONGS by Daniel Sluman. Lyrical, confessional poems exploring the experience of chronic pain & disability, fertility & pregnancy, the ways the body & the world interact & intersect.
Ready to pre-order now, out in May.
ninearchespress.com/publications...
10.02.2026 10:17
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A big thank you @betarish.bsky.social for a very encouraging review of Beast in Under the Radar Issue 36! The flight issue looks β₯οΈ and can be ordered here:
ninearchespress.ecwid.com/Under-the-Ra...
@ninearchespress.bsky.social @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social
07.02.2026 08:42
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Reviews of Rachael Boast's Versus Versus anthology and of recent poetry collections by @jesstraynor.bsky.social and @pascalepetit.bsky.social feature in Issue 36 of Under the Radar. With thanks to reviewers @julwe1.bsky.social, @jennywcreative.bsky.social, @betarish.bsky.social.
02.02.2026 16:16
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A poem Salt Bride from my ninth collection, Beast, published by @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social last April, inspired by the sculpture Salt Bride by Sigalit Landau. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read and who invited me to their venues and festivals β it took five years to write.
01.02.2026 10:09
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what a great photo! with George, Ian and Zain, looking forward to the episode xx
31.01.2026 08:20
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Me being utterly astonished at the beauty of the work in Zain Rishiβs pamphlet Noon published by The Emma Press. Itβs well worth reading.
29.01.2026 17:25
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Thank you Jennifer x, hope you have a gorgeous evening
24.01.2026 09:48
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I shanβt be there sadly as Iβll be teaching an online Arvon week that Friday. Very sad.
23.01.2026 20:56
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For anyone fighting depression this January
#mamaamazonica
22.01.2026 08:27
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We live just under Bodmin Moor and in a granite cottage π
19.01.2026 11:27
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I have The Granite Kingdom love it and I live in granite
19.01.2026 09:51
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Poetry is the closest grief has to expression in language. Without it, we would be reduced to a single, unending cry of inexpressible hurt. With it, we exercise our prerogative to be human, in conversation with a grief that would otherwise destroy us.
β Ilyse Kusnetz
18.01.2026 08:23
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Creative power is magical β time stops when in the throes of writing a poem. Afterwards I stop and glance at the clock β an hour passed in a frozen second. What does the process do to the mind? Are there pockets of eternity in its fabric?
09.01.2026 08:02
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writing poems is a form of resistance and protest. Being quiet, listening and looking at the natural world and channeling it is a protest against anti-spiritual forces and noise. Perceiving Earth as one being is a protest against war.
08.01.2026 06:29
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When you feel desperate and hopeless try to write a poem. It doesnβt have to be good, because youβll try it again until one line is alive enough to keep you alive.
05.01.2026 01:11
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ππ½ thank you x
01.01.2026 12:18
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Happy New Year to all! Letβs hope for the best for 2026, here is a hopeful poem from Beast.
01.01.2026 08:45
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even more appreciated knowing how long reviews take to write and read for x
30.12.2025 10:32
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Photo of me aged late twenties wearing one of the hats I used to make. Photo by Ron Serlin.
A photo of me wearing one of my hats, late twenties, by Ron Serlin.
29.12.2025 21:20
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oh go on! Tell us
28.12.2025 07:59
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Thank you! Just saw your comment after drinking a Pastis! β€οΈ
19.12.2025 03:14
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