Jim Lawrence

Goodnight from Eleanor Alloway, wondering how she has managed to lose four hours just by crossing Bickerley Common. Goodnight from Susie Pepperdine, dreams thumping to the heartbeat rhythm of the thing that dwells below Padwick Farm’s dew pond. Goodnight from Hookland.

Moviedrome was one of the greatest things the BBC ever did. I wish they would bring it back.

A wizened old little butler type (not real) with white hair, bald on top, offers small items (chocolates?) on a silver tray at the entrance to a delicatessen. A woman in a long striped cardigan stands nearby with her hand over her face.

Italian deli, Sitges (2025) photograph by Anne Billson

The Mouth of Darkness
~ Victor Hugo (1896)

Call for Participation in Ongoing Events Leading Up to the 30th Anniversary of the Founding of the CNI

Call for Participation in Ongoing Events Leading Up to the 30th Anniversary of the Founding of the CNI

Moist?

A field of sunflowers under a cloudy sky between Allerton Bywater and Castleton, West Yorkshire.

'I grasp the top of one of the wooden posts, loosen the stake, and tear it from the soil. Then another. And again. It’s surprisingly easy. When I have cleared a way I stamp on the mesh. Over & over. It crumples like a flag.'

Unrecovered Time: a new post
longbarrowpress.substack.com/p/unrecovere...

Two badgers in woodland scene, painting.

🖼️ Ronan Crowley

400 Bollocks

101 Bollocks

Seven Bollocks for Seven Brothers

The Bollocks of Navarone

Big Bollocks in Little China

The Bollocks of Madison County

No Bollocks for Old Men

Take Care of Your Bollocks, Tatiana

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Bollocks

Fractional gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Fisher in honor of Kirk Varnedoe

Roy Lichtenstein, Tire, 1962
https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1136914

This Thursday (9 October) @conwayhall.bsky.social
Caitlin Blackwell Baines asks what makes a house haunted? Why do some buildings conjure up a reputation for being particularly creepy, while others leave us unmoved?

In-person and online; details and booking:
www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/eve...

I’m pleased to say you can now pre-order my next book, ‘Fairies: A History’ (out in February 2026) from
@politybooks.bsky.social. Thank you to Jeremy Harte, Simon Young, Jo Hickey-Hall and Owen Davies for such generous endorsements! 🌿📚 www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

Steven Denehan’s new poetry collection, a quarter dead and half alive, is a triumphant return from a poet much admired for his gentle, poignant honesty and wry, self-effacing humour. A deeply personal, yet highly relatable work, it draws heavily on Denehan’s own lived experiences as well as those of loved ones, most notably when talking about his daughter’s childhood and his father’s struggles with dementia. Regardless of theme, the consistent clarity of his writing style serves as a welcome mat, inviting us to settle down and make ourselves comfortable within the lines. ‘the other one is me’ Happy to be the butt of his own jokes, Denehan displays a complete absence of self-pride throughout, confessing to various dark thoughts and pessimisms, as if in hope of absolution from the reader.

‘I have gained on him in the years since, while he has moved further and further away’ a quarter dead and half alive assumes the peak of its powers when concerning those the writer holds dear. The emotional rawness in poems like ‘2013, Before Dementia’ is only made more palpable by the obvious tenderness with which it is laced. ‘her eyes, wet fireworks add to the light of a sun that shines through her curls’ Nevertheless, Denehan’s glowing portrayals of an effervescent daughter’s childhood ensure it will not be rawness, but reverence and joy that remain with the reader long after the final page has been turned.

A quarter dead and half alive, a new poetry collection by Steve Denehan, published by Renard Press.

Here's my review of 'a quarter dead and half alive', the new poetry collection by @steverinod.bsky.social, out now with Renard Press.

Some purchase links:

UK amazon.co.uk/dp/1804471607
US amazon.com/dp/1804471607
CA amazon.ca/dp/1804471607
AU amazon.com.au/dp/1804471607

#poems #poetry #books

#foundpoetry #constructedpoetry #micropoetry #poetsofbluesky

Poetrye ys the technologye of hope.

Waffles?

Posted to her Instagram account on 9/21/2025
Jane Goodall Institute 🇨🇦

Goodnight from Arthur Pentlow, wondering if there’s enough room in the chest freezer to store the body of the Faery he hit with his Volvo 240. Goodnight from Willow Belshaw, wishing she couldn’t hear whispers coming from the dead water in the ditch on Broom Lane. Goodnight from Hookland.

As someone who runs a very real & legit org that has bookish classes that meet on Zoom & invites authors to come speak, I am so sick of these scams.

Unlike them, we PAY the authors who come to our classes. But it takes real work on the part of authors to figure out if we are a scam.

I HATE that.

Internet Cat Picture

“A Proper Poetry Pamphlet Competition #8” – A Poetry Pamphlet Competition Deadline: 30th November 2025 “A Proper Poetry Pamphlet Competition” - A Poetry Pamphlet Competition  Win the chance to see a  collection of your poems, published beautifully in one of our rather lovely pamphlets Deadline: 30th November 2025 The Winning Pamphlet will be published during 2026

“A Proper Poetry Pamphlet Competition #8” – A Poetry Pamphlet Competition Deadline: 30th November 2025

“A Proper Poetry Pamphlet Competition” - A Poetry Pamphlet Competition  Win the chance to see a  collection of your poems, published beautifully in one of our rather lovely pamphlets Deadline:…

UK accused of ‘stark injustice’ as woman from Montserrat refused free NHS care Cherry Brown, 69, a British overseas territory citizen, was left sleeping rough after being sent to England for treatment

Some British citizens are more British citizens than others as a result of the process where the UK has gradually sought to reduce the rights of its former imperial subjects since WW2. The Windrush scandal was one effect of that process and this is another.