Still taking this in! Thrilled and honoured beyond belief. Congratulations to @lozzawriting.bsky.social and @belrimmer.bsky.social , and massive thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk . It's an absolute privilege, and a dream come true. So grateful 🙏 #poetry #poetrycommunity

Helen Gahagan by Ernest Bachrach, 1935. #botd

New single 'Restless' out now. One of the sweetest ballads from the swing era, it was a dream to bring this to life again linktr.ee/ronanmurphym... Ryan Molloy - Bass Shugo Ishii - Guitar Eoghan McCloskey - Drums Recorded with Mikey Rogers @ Sun Studios, Dublin #jazzsky

Happy Birthday Richard Whiting, composer of some iconic tunes. This one still gives me goosebumps. Billie on fire, amazing band. Happy Birthday to Jack Oakie too, who cut a delicious version with the rarely-heard verse #jazzsky youtu.be/D0xAyj74Zcc?...

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Oscar Peterson Just adore this version. Beautiful cut from a beautiful record #Oscar100 #JazzSky youtu.be/6NaUw4FKHD8?...

Montgomery Clift photographed by Stanley Kubrick, 1949

The vase https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-klee/the-vase-1938

Out today! 💋 #BeautifulLittleFools – poetry interrogating The Great Gatsby on its centenary. An indie critique of Fitzgerald’s glittering American Dream. Edited by @alanparrywriter.co.uk & @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social #BookRelease #Gatsby100 #TheGreatGatsby #Poetry amzn.eu/d/abNnC5i

Louise by Eugene Robert Richee, 1927.

#PromoteIndieLit is now live—a new hub where poets & small presses can submit their work to reviewers & literary platforms for free. Brilliant initiative from the ever-inspiring @alanparry83.bsky.social #PoetsOfBlueSky #PoetryCommunity promoteindielit.com

Two Horses, Red and Blue https://www.wikiart.org/en/franz-marc/two-horses-red-and-blue-1912

I thought a Starter Pack with #poets associated with prompts might be useful. So I put one together. If we're connected & you contribute to #poemsabout or #promptcombo please check you're here. If I've missed you, let me know. (#ItsASin of omission not commission...) & please repost #poetrycommunity

'Why Shouldn't I?' Written by Cole Porter, sung by Chris Connor—two of the many LGBTQ+ trailblazers who enriched the world of jazz. You don’t hear this one enough Happy birthday Mr. Porter, Happy Pride Month one & all #jazzsky #pride youtu.be/I1e_yp07v2g?...

New single 'Moose The Mooche (You Gotta Whistle Like Bacall)' out now. A vocal take on Charlie Parker's classic, with original lyrics ronanmurphymusic.com/moose-the-mo... Ryan Molloy - Bass Shugo Ishii - Guitar Eoghan McCloskey - Drums Recorded with Mikey Rogers @ Sun Studios, Dublin #jazzsky

Temple Gardens https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/484870

Poets: Published a chapbook, pamphlet, or collection in the last 3 months? Looking for a space that offers real critique, not just praise? Subs now open for #InConversationInCritique interview & honest review. alanparrywriter.co.uk/2025/05/18/s... #PoetryCommunity #PoetryReview #IndieLit #PIL

Monk & co in bristling form here. Glorious song, one of Gershwin's own favourites from his tunes. The verse is especially beautiful, well worth checking out, Bing Crosby's almost aria-like version includes it #jazzsky youtu.be/YCmrYNHtr-8?...

Next single Moose The Mooche out soon, with original lyrics This is my fave pic of Bird, with the Buddha-like eyes that Kerouac described, "The expression that says, All is well. This was what Charlie Parker said when he played, All is well" NY, c.1947 Photo by William Gottlieb #jazzsky

Huge thank you to my friends among the #poemsabout community for their very kind feedback on rhapsody in #green . Hoping to make the open mic on May 29 if you'd like to hear the live version. Thank you especially to @alanparry83.bsky.social , artist and community builder extraordinaire

For #poemsabout #green @alanparry83.bsky.social @brokenspinearts.bsky.social

I'd really appreciate your following of this showcase of me from #TheStarbeckOrion, some old and new poems and a fab interview!

Ella sending an already stunning song into the stratosphere. Written by Rodgers & Hart for the show The Boys From Syracuse, based on The Comedy of Errors. Gave us Falling In Love With Love, Sing For Your Supper, and paved the way for Kiss Me Kate #shakespeareday #jazzsky youtu.be/skclv006aO8?...

Looking for honest responses here but is there anyone out there (or anyone you know) who might have a following, however modest, in the Redhill area and might be up for playing on a bill alongside @musicofsound.bsky.social on a Saturday night in early July? 😊

Ella and Dizzy, New York, 1950 Photo by Herman Leonard #jazzsky

If you run a blog, newsletter, podcast, or review site—and you want a regular stream of independent literature to cover—I want to hear from you. If you're a press or writer wanting in on this network as it forms—message me.

Happy Birthday Lady. "The way you changed my life..." ❤️ #jazzsky youtu.be/RehJXKeWFYU?...

The city speaks. The poets answer. Glow drops 28 April—one of the most thrilling collections we've ever released. #CityAtNight #Glow #PoetryAnthology

A little offering for today's #poemsabout #thresholds @alanparry83.bsky.social @brokenspinearts.bsky.social

Oh yeah, my book releases today. You can buy print copies here: #PeelingApples Much love to @darkwinterlitmag.bsky.social for believing, & @maryearnshaw.bsky.social @ellierees23.bsky.social @paulrobertmullen82.bsky.social @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social & @lozzawriting.bsky.social amzn.eu/d/jcjXddq

A favourite from Ahmad Jamal, fabulous version of a Rodgers & Hart beauty. Only thing missing is the lyric, one of Hart's funniest (Ben Bagley's version with Blossom Dearie & Bobby Short includes every glorious chorus, highly recommended) #jazzsky youtu.be/GZhN68y9JJo?...

If his prose is as dazzling as his poetry, this will certainly be a work to savour. Peeling Apples, the new novella from Alan Parry, out April 4. Can't wait to delve into this, from one of our most compelling modern voices bit.ly/3QUbNQl #PeelingApples #WritingCommunity #WritersofBlueSky

Love Is Here To Stay, sung by Ella Logan, 1938. Last song composed by George Gershwin and one of his most beautiful. Flipside of I Was Doing All Right which Logan sang in the Goldwyn Follies. Cool to hear the verse (though its attribution is still debated) #jazzsky youtu.be/dNDyNT6JcK4?...

📢 Have you read High-Rise? 📢 A poetry collection that builds, crumbles, and rebuilds in verse. Brutalist, bold, and unforgettable. Don’t miss it. 📖 shorturl.at/LcdGT #HighRise #BrutalistPoetry #Slimlines #PoetryAnthology

Are you a jazz musician? Or someone who works with jazz musicians? Please let me know so I can add you to this starter pack. go.bsky.app/LXUmjim #jazz #jazzsky #jazzmusic #jazzlovers

Poets deserve more than exposure. We’re building a prize that puts real money in the hands of poets — no submission fees, no corporate backing. This is how we change the game. Read the plan → shorturl.at/L8DiE #ByPoetsForPoets #TheBrokenSpineAward #PoetryCommunity #FundraisingCampaign

I Know that You Know. Nat and Stuff Smith are just about ready to combust on this, smokin performance. Amazing Youmans tune, that sudden scale-line is inspired (cool verse too, worth checking out) #jazzsky youtu.be/_wUpBhEruRw?...

Love this song. Love this lady. Band ain't too bad either #jazzsky youtu.be/YoJNoeQnwTI?...

'Someday beneath some hard Capricious star— Spreading its light a little Over far, We'll know you for the woman That you are... ' Djuna Barnes, From Fifth Avenue Up #poetry

'First daffodils...' Oscar Peterson, These Foolish Things, from a gem of an album #jazzsky youtu.be/-iZx8h7KUN8?...

'... To defy Power, which seems omnipotent; To love, and bear ...' These are among my lodestar lines at the moment. Shelley, from Prometheus Unbound #poetrysky #poetrycommunity

Thank you David Johansen, your music & artistry will live forever ❤️ youtu.be/2DFBM2uI-z0?...

There Will Never Be Another You #jazzsky youtu.be/l2RG1FM4tfM?...

Roberta Flack's Lush Life at 20.00. If I had to choose one rendition I think this would be it, softly devastating. From the Duke Ellington TV special We Love You Madly 1973. This is a stunning show from start to finish youtu.be/1AQibJ-LYkY?...

Poets deserve real recognition, not pay-to-play competitions. That’s why I’m launching #TheBrokenSpinePoetryAward. But without £5,000, it won’t happen. Help fund a fee-free award with real prizes. Donate & share. 🔗 shorturl.at/G2mMo

High Rise, a new anthology from @brokenspinearts.bsky.social, out now. Honoured to have a poem in this mesmeric collection #poetry #brutalistpoetry www.amazon.co.uk/High-Rise-Brutalist-Thematic-Slimline-Anthologies/dp/B0DX27Y5Y5

Ella & Ellis in fine form on this Gershwin gem. Too few versions of this, ripe for revival #jazzsky youtu.be/OQkO2YYUdYw?...

Miles & Laura, Columbia Studios, July 16 1969.

Honoured to have a poem in this new anthology from The Broken Spine, coming soon. Thank you @alanparry83.bsky.social and everyone at @brokenspinearts.bsky.social , one of the best presses for contemporary poetry