Simon Maddrell

The third poem in PERVERSE 9G is 'a zebra is an ass with stripes' by Simon Maddrell @simonmaddrell.bsky.social. Read all five poems in this section here: perverse.substack.com/p/perverse-9g

So excited about my debut poetry collection, my nails have changed colour!

@outspokenpress.bsky.social

Get a signed copy here:

simonmaddrell.sumupstore.com/product/lamp...

When I heard it on the Green Planet I was outraged at the anthropomorphism of plants (especially as colonial capitalists) something hopefully gestured with the erasure.

Thank you!

Delighted to be in the latest issue of Dust Magazine — risking life & limb exposing a national treasure…

www.dustpoetry.co.uk/post/human-b...

Delighted to have my poem, ‘Flight’ included in issue 15, Dear World, of Dust Poetry. With thanks to the editors, Tara and Catherine.

Cover of lamping wild rabbits by Simon Maddrell: title in off white block condensed sans serif caps, over a sketched black rabbit, on blue

In Simon Maddrell's wide and bracing world, childhood orbits the voice of a distant and sometimes dangerous parent. Memories of sex parties, dead friends and estranged lovers straddle the spaces between feeling and thought, loss and fatalism. lamping wild rabbits is a brave and expansive multiverse, exploring sexuality, queer desire, memory recall and testimony. With poems that pay homage to the late Derek Jarman, to verses which situate themselves in and around the Isle of Man, exploring Britain's colonial presence through the subverted interplay of English and the Manx language. A poly-vocal and multifaceted debut which is unafraid to confront the shame and stigma of HIV, while never allowing the poems to lose shape or pace, altering the lens to bring the reader's attention to birdsong and the queer body in nature. Maddrell has achieved a distinct and totally convincing sound through the literary geography of lamping wild rabbits, one that gives the impression it's been everywhere and returned because it survived.

We’re delighted to share with you the cover for LAMPING WILD RABBITS, the debut collection by @simonmaddrell.bsky.social forthcoming 12 February 2026.

PRE-ORDERS are up now / outspokenldn.com/rabbits

In Simon Maddrell’s wide and bracing world, childhood orbits the voice of a distant and sometimes dangerous parent. Memories of sex parties, dead friends and estranged lovers straddle the spaces between feeling and thought, loss and fatalism. lamping wild rabbits is a brave and expansive multiverse, exploring sexuality, queer desire, memory recall and testimony. With poems that pay homage to the late Derek Jarman, to verses which situate themselves in and around the Isle of Man, exploring Britain’s colonial presence through the subverted interplay of English and the Manx language. A poly-vocal and multifaceted debut which is unafraid to confront the shame and stigma of HIV, while never allowing the poems to lose shape or pace, altering the lens to bring the reader’s attention to birdsong and the queer body in nature. Maddrell has achieved a distinct and totally convincing sound through the literary geography of lamping wild rabbits, one that gives the impression it’s been everywhere and returned because it survived.

Delighted to share the cover and publisher blurb for my debut poetry collection – out Feb 12th but available for pre-order from @outspokenpress.bsky.social

www.outspokenldn.com/shop/rabbits

Delighted to have another poem in La Piccioletta Barca #gaza #palestineaction #freepalestine

Simon's September Eloquence Simon Maddrell as September's Guest Poet was a joy to behold, to hear and to learn from. Stunning in its content and beautifully rhythmic in its heart beat paced delivery, Simon's set was sharply focu...

Wonderfully kind blog about my performance at Poetry Cafe Eastbourne on Tuesday 9th. It was a pleasure to perform to such an attentive and appreciative audience.

poetrycafeeastbourne.wixsite.com/home/post/si...

Image: Man doing pilates, legs raised in the air Text: Bringing Pilates to Attention Four years in Knockaloe was a living inspiration for inventor Joseph Pilates. Simon Maddrell©

In 'Bringing Pilates to Attention', Simon Maddrell / @simonmaddrell.bsky.social highlights the development of Pilates while exploring the idea of correction and repair.

Read it here: inksweatandtears.co.uk/simon-maddre...

#InkSweatandTears #PoetryCommunity #Submission

You only need to read the first poem of Natalie Shapero‘s Stay Dead to know how good her new collection from @outspokenpress.bsky.social is going to be.

I’m very proud to have had three pamphlets published by @polari.press
I stand “full square behind” Peter Collins and their commitment to platforming LGBTQ+ voices.

#gaza #freepalestine #stopthegenocide #endwarcrimes #permanentceasefire #stopstarvation #endtheoccupation #endapartheid #endarmssalestoisrael #nospyplanes

This weekend, our final two returning guests for our annual Pride Poetry Party 🏳️‍🌈 on Eat the Storms are @simonmaddrell.bsky.social from the Isle of Man and m, from Wales, David Hanlon

Tune in on most platforms to ensure you Stay Bloody Poetic and damn Proud 🏳️‍🌈

New Pamphlet Alert!!!!
Out July.
20% Off pre-orders.

Jo & Ni Go Cruising
Limited Edition of 100

This wonderful stitched pamphlet contains 'found poems' from the holiday journal of teacher, poet, playwright and activist Nigel Young (1946-2022).

simonmaddrell.sumupstore.com/product/jo-a...

From ‘Burial Plots’ by Simon Maddrell @simonmaddrell.bsky.social

read the full poem at www.echepoetry.co.uk/one

Surely the challenge is getting readings, and the further away from publication date it is, the harder it is — unless propelled by prizes.

Lovely to have a new poem out in this brand new mag alongside my friend @simonmaddrell.bsky.social & other fab poets

read my piece here:
www.echepoetry.co.uk/one/blascsok

#gaza #freepalestine #stopthegenocide #endwarcrimes #permanentceasefire #stopstarvation #endtheoccupation #endapartheid #endarmssalestoisrael #nospyplanes

Poetry Worth Hearing: Episode 33 This episode opens with a selection of poems from David Constantine's A Bird Called Elaeus, introduced and read by the author. Many thanks to Bloodaxe for allowing us to usse these poems. The prompt f...

For those who love my garden pics — I have four ‘garden themed’ poems featured in the latest episode of Poetry Worth Hearing

Read here:
www.poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-...

Listen here:
creators.spotify.com/pod/show/kat...

Cover of To Lay Sun Into A Forest - Poems About Grief by Sídhe Press. There is a swirl of a painting, red, yellow, orange, you can see the brushstrokes. On it is the title in a handwriting font.

Delighted to be in this Sídhe Press anthology available from here: www.sidhe-press.eu/books/to-lay...
@sidhepress.bsky.social
Proceeds to Gaza

Revealed: Big tech’s new datacentres will take water from the world’s driest areas Amazon, Google and Microsoft are building datacentres in water-scarce parts of five continents

They should be significantly ‘Water Positive’ in the areas they site these places. By their very nature they are in semi-arid areas where water stress is a problem already.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

How I create… with poet Anthony Anaxagorou | Southbank Centre From the need for music to thriving on feedback, get an understanding of how the award-winning poet crafts his lines.

I did a small interview for the Southbank Centre's How I Create magazine series where I spoke about the various plates I spin and the difference between art and creativity.

www.southbankcentre.co.uk/magazine/how...

From 18-25 March, #BigGive is doubling every donation made to @creativefutureuk.bsky.social 📣
The Writers’ Award is the only free to enter national writing competition for ALL underrepresented writers. Your donation will help keep it free!
Donate: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

#ArtsForImpact

Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Ozymandias

Thanks for reading and sharing today's poem - Strings & Whistles by @simonmaddrell.bsky.social

YouTube video by Manx Radio SPOTLIGHT 05 FEBRUARY 2025

Interview on Manx Radio Spotlight programme about my verse memoir in the voice of Jonathan Blake ‘Patient L1’ from Polari Press.

@polari.press @jonb-2149.bsky.social @manxradio.bsky.social

Delighted to appear as a TLC Showcase talking about the two Free Reads I received thanks to @newwritingsouth.bsky.social and @arvonfoundation.bsky.social for my new — but yet to be finalised — debut collection with @outspokenpress.bsky.social

literaryconsultancy.co.uk/resources/sh...