David Hanlon

Black-and-white graphic of a vintage typewriter seen from above. Torn paper strips sit in the typewriter reading “£1200 RAISED” and “WIN CASH” in bold lettering. Below, the hashtags “#TheBrokenSpineAward” and “#ByPoetsForPoets” are printed. The overall style is gritty, high-contrast, and zine-like.

This prize matters exactly as much as any other poetry prize.
Because none of them matter.
We crowdfunded ours to show that plainly — with you beside us.
#TheBrokenSpineAward #ByPoetsForPoets #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky

An intimate, softly focused photograph shows multiple bare bodies resting close together, hands gently touching skin. Faces are not shown. The mood is calm and tender, emphasising rest and connection after intensity. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top left corner. “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” is written in white at the top right. Bold white text in the lower right reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #SPENT”.

#PoemsAbout #Spent is live.

Write the after.
The bodies that don’t rush apart.
The silence that isn’t empty.
The care that follows intensity.

Post from today.
Tag #PoemsAbout #Spent to be read and shared.
Use Alt Text.
Take care with each other.

Call for Submissions: Poetry With Spit, Spine, and Something to Say - The Broken Spine Submissions Open Throughout February 2026 | Publication Later That Year

Last day to submit.
No gods. No masters. No compromise.
Just poems that bleed, bruise, and bite back.
You in?
#PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #PoetsOfBluesky #WednesdayWIPs #Poetry #SubmissionWindow

A black-and-white photograph shows a person in close profile, partially obscured by shadow, peering through horizontal window blinds. One hand lifts a slat, allowing light to fall across their eye and face. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top left corner. “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” is written in white at the top right. Bold white text in the lower right reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #BEINGWATCHED”.

This week: #BeingWatched.

The look that lingers.
The sense of eyes before proof.
The body adjusting itself without knowing why.

Write the awareness.
The almost-seeing.
The way desire sharpens when it’s observed.

New theme opens Friday.
Don’t post early.
Use Alt Text.
Tag #PoemsAbout to be found.

A softly lit, intimate photograph shows several bare bodies close together, partially cropped so faces are not visible. Hands rest gently on skin, fingers intertwined. The image focuses on closeness, warmth, and stillness rather than action. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top left corner. “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” is written in white at the top right. Bold white text in the lower right reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #SPENT”.

This week: #Spent.

Not climax.
After.

Bodies cooling.
Hands still holding.
That quiet where everything has already happened.

Write the moment when effort is gone.
When touch softens.
When nothing is demanded.

Don’t post early.
Use Alt Text.
Tag #PoemsAbout to be found.

A black-and-white photograph of seabirds flying above a calm sea. Gentle waves roll toward the shore beneath a pale sky. In the centre of the image, handwritten-style text reads “#LIFTTOTHESKY,” with “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” beneath it. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top right corner.

For #LiftToTheSky, we look beyond ourselves.
Who’s doing good work quietly?
Lift them.

Call for Submissions: Poetry With Spit, Spine, and Something to Say - The Broken Spine Submissions Open Throughout February 2026 | Publication Later That Year

We don’t want your inner child, unless they’re throwing bricks.
We don’t want confession, unless it ends with an indictment.
We want guts. Punk. Poetry. Now.
#PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #PoetsOfBluesky #WednesdayWIPs #Poetry #SubmissionWindow

Tomorrow is #WednesdayWIPs.

Bring your work-in-progress —
or bring your update.
What’s moving.
What’s stuck.
What you’re sitting with.

This is about process, not perfection.
We show up for each other by showing where we are.

Black-and-white graphic of a vintage typewriter seen from above. Torn paper strips sit in the typewriter reading “£1200 RAISED” and “WIN CASH” in bold lettering. Below, the hashtags “#TheBrokenSpineAward” and “#ByPoetsForPoets” are printed. The overall style is gritty, high-contrast, and zine-like.

One editor will pick the poems they love.
That’s it.
No career promises. No breakthrough narrative.
Just cash and community — raised together.
#TheBrokenSpineAward #ByPoetsForPoets #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky

Very happy to have a new poem out in @blacknorereview.bsky.social — grateful to the editor for giving it a home. Read it here:
blacknorereview.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/d...

A quiet nudge for the week ahead.

#WednesdayWIPs is coming up.
A space to share what you’re working on — or how it’s going.
A line. A paragraph. A struggle. A pause.

No polish required.
Progress counts.
Care is reciprocal here.

Call for Submissions: Poetry With Spit, Spine, and Something to Say - The Broken Spine Submissions Open Throughout February 2026 | Publication Later That Year

No rhyming couplets about “the moon” here.
We want the kebab on the curb, the protest bruise, the overdraft confession.
Make it hurt. Make it howl.
#PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #PoetsOfBluesky #WednesdayWIPs #Poetry #SubmissionWindow

A person stands in low, warm light wearing a yellow sleeveless bodysuit. Their arms are tattooed, and they hold a pineapple at their lower torso. Their head is slightly bowed, expression unreadable. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top left corner. “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” is written in white at the top right. Bold white text in the lower right reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #UNDERTHESKIN”.

Last week stripped us bare.
This week: #UnderTheSkin.

Not what touches you.
What stays.

Write the wanting that lingers.
The look that learns your name.
The ache that doesn’t leave when the body does.

New theme opens Friday.
Don’t post early.
Use Alt Text.
Tag #PoemsAbout to be found.

Black-and-white graphic of a vintage typewriter seen from above. Torn paper strips sit in the typewriter reading “£1200 RAISED” and “WIN CASH” in bold lettering. Below, the hashtags “#TheBrokenSpineAward” and “#ByPoetsForPoets” are printed. The overall style is gritty, high-contrast, and zine-like.

This prize won’t change your life.
Neither do most prizes.
It rewards one editor’s favourite poems and pays them.
You helped build it with us. That’s what matters.
#TheBrokenSpineAward #ByPoetsForPoets #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky

WISH My trick is to pretend To be a person you might want To know In the initial stages & then to fail At being that In a million small meticulous ways Until our century Finally passes

Tom Snarsky 💙

from LIGHT-UP SWAN

Happy #smallpoemsunday!

@tomsnarsky.bsky.social
@ornithopterpress.bsky.social

Call for Submissions: Poetry With Spit, Spine, and Something to Say - The Broken Spine Submissions Open Throughout February 2026 | Publication Later That Year

If your poem doesn’t belong on a billboard but a toilet door in a dive bar, send it.
If it sounds better screamed into a mic than whispered at brunch, send it.
#PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #PoetsOfBluesky #WednesdayWIPs #Poetry #SubmissionWindow

Very happy to have a new poem out in @blacknorereview.bsky.social — grateful to the editor for giving it a home. Read it here:
blacknorereview.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/d...

A magical, bitter-sweet love poem from David Hanlon today. @vespertine4.bsky.social

marnie fish casserole — Blood+Honey by Karen Walker “The table became elbow to elbow to elbow, and, to make room, I was shoved to the back of the highest cupboard.”

"Marine Fish Casserole" by Karen Walker

“The table became elbow to elbow to elbow, and, to make room, I was shoved to the back of the highest cupboard.”

www.bloodhoneylit.com/fiction/mari...

Green poetry night flyer for The Broken Spine Live at The Grasshopper, Southport. Event date is Saturday 31.01.26, 19:00–21:00. Free entry. Featuring Jay Rafferty and Martin Kennedy Yates, hosted by Alan Parry. Open mic slots available. Bold white text on a deep green background with golden illustrations of a rose and a hand holding a pint glass.

This Saturday, get ready for an unforgettable evening with The Broken Spine Live at The Grasshopper in Southport! 🎤 Featuring performances by Jay Rafferty, Martin Kennedy Yates, and hosted by Alan Parry He/Him Don't miss out! #PoetryAndPints #NorthWestWriters

A reminder that if you have bought Christmas and winter anthology no 6 you can submit five, not 3 poems, for our submission call opening this Wednesday. That’s a thank you for support. Photo evidence required! 💝

www.blackboughpoetry.com/events

Thrilled to have a new poem published by @genrepunkmag.bsky.social 💜🖤 — check it out here:

genrepunkmag.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/s...

Thrilled to have a new poem published by @genrepunkmag.bsky.social 💜🖤 — check it out here:

genrepunkmag.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/s...

Call for Submissions: Poetry That Remembers, Mourns, and Refuses to Let Go - The Broken Spine Submissions Open Throughout January 2026 | Publication Later That Year

Submissions close soon.

Don’t wait for the poem to become easier.
Send it because it isn’t.

#PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #WednesdayWIPs #SpineEdicts #PoetryCommunity #SubmissionWindow #OpenCall #Poetry

Also featuring the brilliant @katiejenkinspoet.bsky.social!

Grateful to have a prose poem published in Club Plum Lit's new issue! 💜

clubplumliteraryjournal.com/david-hanlon/

Delighted to have one of my River Dove Sonnets featured in Januaries Glomag. Thank you, Glory:

Congrats, Paul!🎉

Just finished Peeling Apples by @alanparrywriter.co.uk and I’m blown away. Precise, sensitive writing—full of generosity and heart. This intimate novella deeply moved me; I couldn’t put it down. A beautiful, poignant story, rich in observation, imagery, and nostalgia ❤️

Grateful to have a prose poem published in Club Plum Lit's new issue! 💜

clubplumliteraryjournal.com/david-hanlon/