Magma have announced they're becoming the latest print-based U.K. poetry journal to ask poets to pay to play, introducing submission fees from now on.

Magma have announced they're becoming the latest print-based U.K. poetry journal to ask poets to pay to play, introducing submission fees from now on.

As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more. This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...

The emotional significance of objects sends ripples through our lives, which is why this is often my final poem when I give a reading. It's taken from my second full collection, Whatever You Don't, Just Don't. If you fancy a signed copy, drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you...

What's it like to return to your home town years after leaving? This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...

Following John Lucas' recent death, Shoestring Press are to close. Inevitable, but still a blow...

Following John Lucas' recent death, Shoestring Press are to close. Inevitable, but still a blow...

All poetry (and writing in general) must surely be classed as political, given that it poses innate and implicit questions about the role of the individual. Once the poet recognises, embraces, and applies this concept, everything changes. Or at least it has done for me!

If you fancy a copy, just drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you (U.K., mainland Europe, Canada and Oceania)...

Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't. Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...

Poets, if they're lucky, end up having signature poems. But they don't choose them for themselves. Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...

This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is for anybody who's had to clear a house, who's found objects that must have had significance for someone no longer here to tell their story....

I only want a single pair of hands to stretch my spine and open me at last...

Morning! Sunny fall day here in London, which is always a November blessing. I’m finishing up two books. Outstanding poetry by @roguestrands.bsky.social, ‘Whatever you do, just don’t’. A a delightful Christmas comedy by @caimhmc.bsky.social, ‘Ring the Bells’.

All poetry (and writing in general) must surely be classed as political, given that it poses innate and implicit questions about the role of the individual. Once the poet recognises, embraces, and applies this concept, everything changes. Or at least it has done for me!

The launch of Whatever You Do, Just Don't. Two years ago today. A terrific night and a packed house...

The launch of Whatever You Do, Just Don't. Two years ago today. A terrific night and a packed house...

As someone who doesn’t often visit where I grew up, but always has feelings when I do, this poem strikes deep.

About a month ago, Alice Roberts (@profaliceroberts.bsky.social), the famous broadcaster, author and academic, shared my poem, ‘The Last Carry’, on Bluesky. It jumped from 650 to 850 likes in a day. Dozens of people followed me. Was any of this relevant or lasting? Was it just a momentary hit...?

Rogue Strands reflects on the power of celebrity to promote poetry and enable it to find a wider readership from beyond the bubble... roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

The power of celebrity is huge when it comes to enabling poetry to reach out beyond the bubble. By simply sharing a poem on social media, famous people are breaking down barriers, inviting their followers to read verse in their daily lives...

The power of celebrity is huge when it comes to enabling poetry to reach out beyond the bubble. By simply sharing a poem on social media, famous people are breaking down barriers, inviting their followers to read verse in their daily lives...

About a month ago, Alice Roberts (@profaliceroberts.bsky.social), the famous broadcaster, author and academic, shared my poem, ‘The Last Carry’, on Bluesky. It jumped from 650 to 850 likes in a day. Dozens of people followed me. Was any of this relevant or lasting? Was it just a momentary hit...?

Rogue Strands reflects on the power of celebrity to promote poetry and enable it to find a wider readership from beyond the bubble... roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

Check out our amazing Issue 6 cover art by Lita Cabellut. You know you want in - themadridreview.com/subscriptions #arte #art #portada #litacabellut #litmag #subscribenow

Here's another mother getting supper in Neil's kitchen...

A luminous study of ordinariness, dusk as both setting and metaphor for impermanence.

If you fancy a copy, just drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you (U.K., mainland Europe, Canada and Oceania)...

The repetitive, hypnotic, soporific, domestic reassurance of the easygoing assonance in the first line of the second stanza, giving reluctant way across the invisible threshold of enjambement to another set of vowels entirely in the second line. Beautiful, melancholy. Reminds me of Duffy's 'Prayer'.

Here's another mother getting supper in Neil's kitchen...

What's it like to return to your home town years after leaving? This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...

Sad to hear that Prole is the latest print-based poetry journal to bite the dust...

Everyone wants to publish in print-based poetry mags, but very few people actually buy them.

There's no escaping the fact that most non-funded, print-based poetry journals in the U.K. are in big trouble right now...

Indeed, and many non-funded, print-based poetry publishers too

Anywhere, I closed down because we were refused funding a few times in a row and couldn’t justify paying it all myself while I was back studying

It's an ever present problem though, isn't it. My guess is that more new/workshop/writers' group poets are busy submitting to competitions and doing online events, and the circus has moved on from the trad. model of poet + range of print mags.

I run a print mag but we also put everything online. I prefer my own work to be online. It is easier to share/find readers that way. For just the reason you said.

This needs a wide discussion. Why is it that everybody wants their own poems in print but they don’t want to buy anybody else’s poems? Is there anybody buying poetry who doesn’t also write it? If not, why not? Are there so many journals that the quality of writing can’t be maintained?

There's no escaping the fact that most non-funded, print-based poetry journals in the U.K. are in big trouble right now...

Sad to hear that Prole is the latest print-based poetry journal to bite the dust...

Everything depends on your perspective...

Everything depends on your perspective...

Mat and I had a great audience of 35-40 for our Rogue Strands event in London last week. Poets met readers, readers met poets, pints were drunk, books were sold, people were brought together by a shared love of poetry. Felt ace to have facilitated all that, and we'll be back with more in 2026!

Mat and I had a great audience of 35-40 for our Rogue Strands event in London last week. Poets met readers, readers met poets, pints were drunk, books were sold, people were brought together by a shared love of poetry. Felt ace to have facilitated all that, and we'll be back with more in 2026!

Very true. The poem talks about one set of objects, but is implicitly inviting the reader to do exactly what you've done and filter it through their lives and thoughts and objects...

Some words on Richard Meier's latest collection, 'After the Miracle' (link to my review in the comments) @nellnelson.bsky.social