So thrilled to get my copies of Q is for Garden by @jennychambles.bsky.social, With My Own Hand by @ashleydouglas.bsky.social, Shorelines by @alycia.bsky.social and the proof of The Shape of Monsters by @clhellisen.bsky.social!
I hope that art can change the world, or ask us to change the word - and that we listen.
Emergency Dream by @pollyrowena.bsky.social is so, so good. The book I needed to read, the book that held me ❤️
Polly Atkin@pollyrowena.bsky.social · 5mo agoHaving a bit of an emotional week saying goodbye to a phase of my family’s life, and this latest endorsement from the wonderful Mary Jean Chan that came in this morning tipped me over into tears I’d been holding in. I’m so so grateful to all these early readers and their reception of these poems.
We are so excited to be on Bluesky! This year’s festival is from the 5th-8th November. Will we see you there? With huge thanks to Vici MacDonald and Andrew Lindesay for creating our beautiful logo 🌊 💛 #newlogo #poetry #writing #poetryfestival #suffolk
in the midst of it all, I find my ideas of “perfection” changing, my need to be “perfect” disappearing. perfect body (whatever that is), perfect cv, perfect writing, perfect tone, perfectly curated persona. all the “perfect” interruptions to a really and truly and unapologetically lived life
I haven’t shared too much poetry recently - I’ve learned that I’m not someone who writes very much during crisis, amidst grief. but I have a new one, one of my only new ones, in @aaww-nyc.bsky.social’s gorgeous new folio edited by Megan Pinto and Kiran Bath 🩷 aaww.org/then-the-lak...
Then the Lake Shifts
the peaks of this memory sharpen
aaww.org
Phillips "This is not a country where people get thrown in jail for things they say" @zackpolanski.bsky.social points out 2,700 people have been arrested for holding signs And well done to Zack for challenging Phillips smear that 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' is antisemitic
have you found any new-to-you poets recently? maybe through a literary journal? maybe one who doesn’t have a full length book out yet? I would love love love to be introduced to some new writing
I can’t touch pen to paper without it taking the form of grief, grief, grief.
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...
Guidance for responding to 'A Fairer Pathway to Settlement' consultation
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
amnesty.org.uk
writing poetry for yourself in the dark hours of the morning >>>>>>>
The act of pretending I’m not sad and filled with grief over the holidays, because it doesn’t fit in with everyone’s generally festive moods
only able to read short things at the moment - any favourite short stories? or short story collections? 🌱
my latest newsletter – on how grief has changed how I process information, and how diaries/notebooks have become a home for all my peripheral, fragmented thoughts elsewheres.substack.com/p/ephemera-o...
ephemera of becoming
grief is a living notebook
elsewheres.substack.com
end of year “best book” lists are coming out, so just a little reminder that you and you books are valuable, whether or not you’re on them 💛
Scientists now believe that the human brain--a magic goo for worrying--can also be used to do other things
it's gutting to see access and widening participation initiatives being binned across the university sector. ELCE here at Bristol, Essex Pathways here. nothing pushes my personal, visceral buttons like the idea of denying academic study to someone whose life it could change
UCU Essex@ucuessex.bsky.social · 8mo agoIn yet more devastating news, the VC has confirmed her plans to cut 80% of academic staff from Essex Pathways, our foundation year department. This would effectively close down all our existing foundation year programmes through the back door. But it's not a done deal yet. Please share urgently.
If you donate £10 or more to this fundraiser by @divyampersaud.com, I'll send you a signed copy of Another Way to Split Water - will post anywhere 💙 (3 copies available - just msg me with a screenshot)
Dr. Divya (offline 🔔)@divyampersaud.com · 8mo agoThe last H had to ask for help was a year ago, when his toddlers were facing shrapnel & deadly cold in their tent. He hasn’t asked since—trusting us to come through for them each month while protecting these girls’ privacy. You’ve never failed. Join in:
It´s Friday, it's raining- and most of us have a safe place to stay, away from the rain and the cold. Palestinians do not have this luxury, the situation is catastrophic and wishing it away won´t help. But you can help by sharing and donating, you can offer real, tangible help. Please do.
Dr. Divya (offline 🔔)@divyampersaud.com · 8mo agoThe last H had to ask for help was a year ago, when his toddlers were facing shrapnel & deadly cold in their tent. He hasn’t asked since—trusting us to come through for them each month while protecting these girls’ privacy. You’ve never failed. Join in:
to be a writer is to want to be known and unknown, public and private, searchable and imperceptible, visible and hidden both
Applications are now open for 2026-27 Fellowships at IASH! Apply via the portal on our website: www.iash.ed.ac.uk/application-... This round (for visits between August 2026 and July 2027) closes on 27 Feb for mid-career/senior scholars, and on 24 Apr for postdoctoral/early-career researchers.
Application form | IASH
iash.ed.ac.uk
what are some poetry journals people are loving these days? want to read some new work by poets I don't know yet
a year and 11 months of Crips for eSims for Gaza ;-; waiting for you to see this post, Alice! T_T #ConnectingGaza bit.ly/eSimsRUs
Crips for eSims for Gaza
Crips for eSims for Gaza is a collaboration between Jane Shi, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Alice Wong.
bit.ly
my debut nonfiction book comes out in less than a year, which is kind of freaking me out 🌝 if anyone knows where to pitch interviews or essays related to it, or has experiences to share, please let me know I'm barely functioning lately & this added layer of being perceived is really quite the trip
missing home, the idea of home, multiple homes, the home of my past self