During the Great Depression there were endless dance marathons. During our LLM Implosion there will be endless emergency podcasting marathons.

Poet and academic Douglas Dunn, whose work covered working-class lives, grief, Scottish history and landscapes has died aged 83. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Douglas Dunn obituary: Poet and teacher who wrote about class and grief

Dunn was a friend of the poet Philip Larkin and taught creative writing at Dundee at St Andrews universities.

bbc.co.uk

My one claim to fame is that @economist.com printed my letter spotting the April Fool described below.

Lottery ticket a/k/a entry into the National Poetry Competition has been bought.

The poetry life today sees me cracking glow sticks at a photo shoot in Deptford.

Ysabel Yates'... I mean Cookie Monster's superb takedown of why GenAI in the workplace sucks.

Why is Jamie dancing to ‘Let’s Dance’ in Aladdin Sane makeup? #Strictly

Back home after a few days in Grasmere. No rain!

Oh sad news; he was a rare purveyor of form with grit, elegance and an understated charm.

David Wheatley @nemoloris.bsky.social · 2d ago

I am terribly sad to hear the great Douglas Dunn has died. I turn to a treasured copy of Terry Street, inscribed by both the author and its previous owner Derek Mahon!

Maya might burn through everyone as she signally fails to defend any other traitor. #CelebTraitors

So kind to see these words after a long day of travel and workshopping. Thank you so much!

Tony Williams@tonywilliams.bsky.social · 4d ago

I very much enjoyed A Hobby of Mine by @betarish.bsky.social from @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social - joyful waves of repetition and variation that put me in mind of Frank Kuppner

It is really chilling to see how quickly Black, Caribbean, and African writers and academics have become the global face of AI use and accusations of plagiarism. For such a serious charge, @vauhinivara.bsky.social's article rests on...a Pangram scan. www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/1...

Yet Another Literary Prizewinner Seems to Be AI

The prestigious Caine Prize, announced last week, went to a story with many red flags.

theatlantic.com

"Dr Pepper, so misunderstood." But why was this case? In this essay I shall

best parallel I can think of for the SoA's annoucement today is SOGAT and the NGA going, "yeah fair play Mr Murdoch, you're right and can't be beat."

I can't think of a parallel where a high-profile, bestselling author has effectively taken themselves out of a market the way Sally Rooney has.

There's incredible work up on the new issue of The Honest Ulsterman published today so I'm pleased they've included one of mine. www.humag.co/poetry/aqua

Me and @moleculesunlimited.bsky.social in conversation for The Honest Ulsterman; Cherry Blossom chat! www.humag.co/article/3503...

It was a great pleasure to interview my friend and mentor @betarish.bsky.social about his latest book for the honest ulsterman. @ninearchespress.bsky.social Please see www.humag.co/article/3503...

Today's linkedin dispatch: someone has compared Emily Dickinson to Prince, which in of itself isn't a bad idea. But used this photo to illustrate the post:

Next Monday, October 19, we're hosting a double-header at the Jolly Gardeners pub in Vauxhall. Pt 1: Ragged Splendour book launch with Ben Wyatt Pt 2: Nightwatchman quiz set and hosted by Marcus Berkmann Click here for more info and tickets: eventbrite.com/e/book-launc...

show off vibes, but am off to Paris next week to gallivant. Anyone know of anywhere good for lunch near to the Bourse de Commerce, as I shall be spending a lot of my day at the Pinault Collection?

This weekend catch SHED! An amazing new multi-media theatre piece commissioned by @theatrevoliere and starring Martin Figura. Tickets going fast for all 3 performances so get your FREE tickets now!

show off vibes, but am off to Paris next week to gallivant. Anyone know of anywhere good for lunch near to the Bourse de Commerce, as I shall be spending a lot of my day at the Pinault Collection?

Travelling to England to read and take part in BBC Radio's “The Verb”, I'll re-up this piece about the origins of my book - featuring Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes, and "taphophobia", the fear of being buried alive.. @carcanet.bsky.social @imcmillan.bsky.social carcanet.substack.com/p/dirt-rich-...

Dirt Rich: Graeme Richardson

Graeme Richardson introduces his new collection

carcanet.substack.com

classic 'delete Feedly tab, not notice for a few days, load it up again, mark all 987 feeds as read' behaviour.

Stroud's first poetry festival for 35 years opens on Thursday, and there's loads of fabulous events happening from Thursday night to Saturday night. I'm heading to as many as I can, as well as performing (alas, my event clashes with Kim Deyn's...), but here's one I'm looking forward to enormously.

Form follows function Punk precedes punctuation

Perfectly distils why I love it as a form.

Anthony Etherin@anthonyetherin.bsky.social · 2w ago

CONCERNING THE TRIOLET The form is short; some lines repeat, but terms distort. The form is short, its meaning caught in metered feet. (The form is short some lines? Repeat.)

We should all wish for this most humongous of Bantz outcomes

Graham MacAree@grahammacaree.com · last wk.

finding myself holding the perverse hope that city pull off an invincibles season while getting relegated