You can write, but can you READ like a writer? Active reading is a secret weapon; it enlarges the toolkit, and turbo charges your own writing. Join me and Sam Jordison at Arvon's loveliest house this May. Bring sticky notes and some work in progress! http://bit.ly/4qY1qdQ
Fancy some March magic? Arrive at 10pm, leave at dawn. Write, snooze and wake. Star-gazing, ink-making; and the words that come when creative people hunker down together, on the first night of spring. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-sleepover-with-jo-bell-and-bean-sawyer-tickets-1970450621853
To generalise what she is saying:
‘There is no such thing as society.’
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Glad it was useful and how exciting!
It is the seventieth birthday of (genuine) national treasure @imcmillan.bsky.social - a source of thoughtful good humour in all his posts, a brilliant host at the TS Eliot awards the other night, and a Very Good Egg. Happy birthday sir, hope you spend it with those you love xx
Rejoice, for Ian McMillan has left X and joined us here. Follow him for a dose of thoughtful happiness every day @imcmillan.bsky.social
You were in particularly fine form and as ever, a shepherd who made the whole flock feel loved.
Book Review. "Boater" by @jobellwriter.bsky.social This magnificent book elegantly braids together three narratives. The first is the history of the British (English, really) canal network. The subject matter isn't dry and neither is the prose. Yes, there are dates and names and Great Men in top...
Thank you so very much xx
Better late than never! Hope you'll enjoy it.
Want to write more (or better) poems in 2026? This best-selling book got hundreds of poets into print for the first time. Do what it says on the cover, or dip into it for rich prompts, exemplar poems and tips to develop your practice. #iwroteit #obviously www.waterstones.com/book/52-writ...
Stood on a big rock yesterday. Liked it a lot.
Want to write more (or better) poems in 2026? This best-selling book got hundreds of poets into print for the first time. Do what it says on the cover, or dip into it for rich prompts, exemplar poems and tips to develop your practice. #iwroteit #obviously www.waterstones.com/book/52-writ...
One of my favourite poems from the past year: ‘On finding a cow’s jawbone in my city garden’ by @poetsarahdoyle.bsky.social
Published in issue 16 of The Alchemy Spoon.
The second was with poet & author @jobellwriter.bsky.social - we talked about archeology, empathy & building a creative community.
on.soundcloud.com/LVECW25gaUXo...
The 52 project changed a lot of poets' lives and led to this best-selling workbook, now used by many groups and MA courses. If you want to write a poem a week in 2026 - or just get a shedload of good prompts and new poems to read - you can find it here ninearchespress.com/publications...
The lovely Tim Clare invited me onto his podcast, Death of 1000 Cuts and we talked for ages about poetry, Roman walls and the treasure that is good feedback. Thanks sir! soundcloud.com/timclare/s8e...
The lovely Tim Clare invited me onto his podcast, Death of 1000 Cuts and we talked for ages about poetry, Roman walls and the treasure that is good feedback. Thanks sir! soundcloud.com/timclare/s8e...
It's day 15 of our FREE advent posts on The Poetic Licence. Today it's national treasure Ian McMillan and a magical harmonica. www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
BOATER is doing tremendously well - check out the Amazon reviews if that is your style - and my goodness, what a GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT IT WOULD MAKE. It's both a personal history and a history of the canals, with some startling information about the marital relations of ducks along the way.
BOATER is doing tremendously well - check out the Amazon reviews if that is your style - and my goodness, what a GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT IT WOULD MAKE. It's both a personal history and a history of the canals, with some startling information about the marital relations of ducks along the way.
By definition, you are being educated by people who know more than you do. One of the things they might show you is that poetry is not all about iambic pentameter: it is about seeing how other people express their deepest emotions. Ideal training for a victim advocate. Listen to them.
The Poetic Licence has a 24-day advent calendar event.... every day a FREE post with a poem to consider and the chance to discuss it with other members. Here's the first! www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
"A woman is not going to have sex with a man who splits the bill with her." If this is progressive then god help us all. The man who *insists* on paying for dinner every time is working on precisely that assumption. It's his job to pay, right? And what he's paying for is sex, right? Wrong.
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
The Poetic Licence has a 24-day advent calendar event.... every day a FREE post with a poem to consider and the chance to discuss it with other members. Here's the first! www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
Be like Christine! My boating memoir (full of nuggets of canal history and culture) would be such lovely Christmas reading....
Hi there! We’re not ‘device hoarding,’ we’re paying for groceries and healthcare instead of buying new phones every year, hope this helps your cold dead heart
Thank you!
