John White

If Matt Goodwin went bald, he would look like Uncle Fester from The Addams Family. Less lovable, perhaps.

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Poem of the week – from plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice Two time-stamped poems are taken from a book-length sequence tracking the human moments of a factory night shift

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Nice to see Carol Rumens highlighting here the latest book from the marvellous Matthew Rice.

Poem of the week – from plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice Two time-stamped poems are taken from a book-length sequence tracking the human moments of a factory night shift

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Nice to see Carol Rumens highlighting here the latest book from the marvellous Matthew Rice.

Services like BBC iPlay are so useful, but sometimes it's like handing me a huge bar of chocolate and expecting me not to devour it in one sitting. I've just done that with 'Small Prophets': an absolute delight!!

I could happily sit through an entire session of someone performing readings of Carson's verse. Starting with the marvellous Dresden.

Anyone interested in the craft of poetry, editing ones own work, and weaving a poetic pathway with input from peers, could do worse than get David Kalstone's 'Becoming a Poet - Elizabeth Bishop with Marianne Moore and Robert Lowell'. Thanks to North Sea Poets for the recommendation some weeks back.

This, of course, from a news organisation owned by a petrol state.

Haven't seen it, but it looks like a crap film. I hope it bombs.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

Tom Paulin reads his poem ‘Folly Bridge’ YouTube video by T. S. Eliot Prize

What an afternoon, the terrific Stephen Rea reading Tom Paulin's poem 'Folly Bridge' #TheVerb @imcmillan.bsky.social - Here'sTom Paulin reading his poem, what a priviledge to witness this unravelling magic of words. m.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4G... #poetry.

Anyone waiting for a 'Love Actually moment' on the UK / US relationship will wait in vain. Starmer really is truly awful. Blair without the charisma. He's got to go.

Two social media posts. The first is from Keir Starmer and reads: “The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime. I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.” Below it is a post from Ed Davey that reads: “This cop out isn’t good enough. Standing up for international law means condemning leaders when they break it, whether that’s Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump.”

Always good to listen to Niall Campbell on poetry, from the boy sorting crabs in a fishing village to the time-poor writer-editor of later years. And boy-oh-boy those 30,000 poems he has to sift. Getting into Poetry London must feel like winning the lottery!

Sound | Shadow - with Niall Campbell - Planet Poetry Never mind the baubles... Here's the magic from Niall Campbell, who shares spellbinding poems from his Bloodaxe collection The Island in the Sound, which blend unique elements from his South Uist upbr...

planetpoetry.buzzsprout.com/1414696/epis...

@atriumpoetry.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/atri...

Very pleased and thankful to be published by Atrium today, such a nice early Christmas present.

@atriumpoetry.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/atri...

Very pleased and thankful to be published by Atrium today, such a nice early Christmas present.

Departure Lounge – John White Departure Lounge . . John White has been commended in the Ginkgo Prize for Eco poetry (2020) and the Magma Poetry Prize (2024). ‘Attachments’ (Templar), won the 2023 iOTA Shot pamphlets competition…

Departure Lounge – John White @johncraigwhite.bsky.social

atriumpoetry.com/2025/12/05/d...

A very interesting review of a fine collection.

Matthew Stewart reviews 'Still' by Alan Buckley (Blue Diode Press, 2025) The Friday Poem on 5th December 2025

Matthew Stewart reviews 'Still' by Alan Buckley (Blue Diode Press, 2025)
open.substack.com/pub/thefrida...

One of the funniest books I ever read.

Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick | George Monbiot The government’s new planning bill is tearing down environmental protections to benefit developers. This nation of nature lovers won’t stand for it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Today's column is about the government's huge, unprecedented assault on nature ... and about the eerie, astonishing silence of the big nature groups. The RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts have 7.5m members between them. A vast force, completely unmobilised. 🧵
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Kemi Badenoch wants to end ‘rip-off degrees’ – but I wouldn’t have created Horrid Henry without mine | Francesca Simon I studied Old and Middle English. Although I didn’t know it, I couldn’t have chosen a better subject to train me to become a children’s author, says author Francesca Simon

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Tories set a low bar after misspelling Britain on conference chocolate Misprinted wrappers pulled from Manchester goodie bags after derision on social media

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Hilarious ...

It goes without saying that the Nonconformists got there about a century ago. But well done, Anglicans, for catching up.

This is great to see, but Ed Miliband and the whole of government now need to stop using Elon Musk’s hellsite bsky.app/profile/matt...

Why you should leave X A rallying cry to progressives everywhere...

🔴 NEW - Why you should leave X

Here’s the sad truth: Twitter no longer exists. X is something else entirely. It’s a megaphone for extremism, controlled by a deranged oligarch.

📝 latest Substack 👇🏻

Is it Conor Cruise O'brien?

But does it rhyme?

The Asylum Dance is my favourite book of his. It's like an Incantation.