People of Wolves, if you've left your shopping until the last minute and you've got to buy for a reader of novels or poetry ...I've got books on the shelves in @waterstoneswton.bsky.social . All Black Country centric stuff. And If the recipient doesn't like it, the great thing is you can blame me😁.

Want to take part in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Slam on Saturday 31st January 2026 at 7.30pm. @pandemonialists.bsky.social are taking expressions of interest til midnight on Christmas Eve. We'll do the draw on Boxing Day to see who gets to compete. Winner of slam gets a paid gig.

Solidarity with the hunger strikers. It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction. All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.

So much respect for Robin Ince, who's a lovely bloke, always tries to do what is right, and deserves better than this from the BBC.

Fifteen and a bit. 😎

If you see this photo, please leave a comment! 🙏😊 Do you know what kind of duck this is? 🦆😍 #Birds 🪶 My exclusive 2026 Birds calendars make perfect Christmas gifts! 😀 You can buy them here; www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...

Looking for a Poetry Competition to enter?www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/competition.html It's open until midnight on 31st December.

Missing Parts – Meg Pokrass atriumpoetry.com/2025/12/12/m...

I follow many incredibly creative people and often, their work is their income. I follow them because they bring their imagination and visions into my feed. I also like to re-post work that I like and admire. It really doesn't take much to support artists, be it a commission or sharing. ❤️🎨

Mat The Beacon Riches. I can live with this.

Watched a documentary on poet Edna St. Vincent Millay last night. Turns out the St. Vincent bit was the name of a hospital that saved her uncle. Wow.

Poets...

I've got a cold and a cough...and suddenly I feel like I want to do a jigsaw.

Delighted that my latest poetry collection 'Unsung' has covered it's publishing costs. This is no mean feat as it only came out at the beginning of September. It is a genuine worry that a small press's investment in my work doesn't pay off for them...or worse, causes them to have to stand a loss.

The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

These are all very good books, folks...

The wife of Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a writing competition celebrating his life is empowering people across the UK to use their voices for the planet

Thank you so much to @alanparrywriter.co.uk, @thebrokenspine.co.uk, for choosing my novella-in-flash as one of the three winners in the Summer 2025 Competition. I've been working on The Knack of Gaining Entry for years and have never given up on it. Now it has found a perfect home. I'm thrilled.

Coughing like a gudd un. Cough, cough, cough. Sometimes I stop and blow my nose...just to ring the changes.

Bad weather getting you down? Brighten up your weekend by penning an entry or three for #WolvesLitFest poetry competition, judged this year by @helenivory.bsky.social and @martinfigura.bsky.social. Closes December 31st. £400 1st prize. 😊 pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-f...

I've contributed a couple of poems to a wintry music and poetry download put together by Ian Marrey to raise money for Acorns. www.justgiving.com/page/from-acorns-grow The download is free but if you're able to contribute to the charity then please do.

The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness.

Support small independent presses...oh, and a tall independent Black Country author! 😂 If you'd like to take a chance on one of my books as a Christmas present for someone then go to Offa's Press online shop for poetry, to Fairacre Books for kid's poetry, and @ignitebooks.bsky.social for my novel.

Support small independent presses...oh, and a tall independent Black Country author! 😂 If you'd like to take a chance on one of my books as a Christmas present for someone then go to Offa's Press online shop for poetry, to Fairacre Books for kid's poetry, and @ignitebooks.bsky.social for my novel.

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The New Art Gallery Walsall. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes features on Sister Dora, and the graves in Queen Street Cemetery.

It’s Christmas now @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social’s glorious Christmas & Winter Anthology 6 is here🤩 it’s bursting with poems from the brightest stars that shine around the globe +stunning artwork So grateful @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social for including 2 tiny sparkles from me👉blackboughpoetry.com/news

On my way to #gaza benefit near London Bridge Come along - tickets here or on the door (I am a late addition) www.jokepit.com/comedy-in/lo...

What a repellent nation we become due to the relentless kowtowing and appeasement of the worst humans - those who define themselves by hate and so many of these media gatekeepers who carefully guard and woo the bigots

Sun and mist in December woods #Bristol

'Glow' by Coral Rumble was commissioned this year as part of our Look North More Often programme, which celebrates the gift of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree from Oslo to Westminster - and it is now available to read online via our website!

If we don't use our small poetry presses, we'll lose them. This is why I refuse to flinch or shy from asking you to purchase a copy of Whatever You Do, Just Don't, my second full collection. Here's a sample poem from the book. Just drop me a DM and I'll sort out a signed copy for you...

Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why? This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...

Go and buy Mat's stuff it is so folky

Perfect Xmas present for the Black Country folk in your life! 😎

We kept the receipts. These comments, taken together, paint a picture of the man he is today.

Poets...we're looking for slammers to take part in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Slam on the evening of Saturday 31st January. Shout up if you'd like your name in the hat to take part. Expressions of interest need to be with us by midnight Christmas Eve. @pandemonialists.bsky.social

Glasgow, it’s been too long. I don’t mean the journey, just since I was here last. #haiku #TrainTravel

No clue where I am. Just seat D7, heading north through the darkness. #haiku #TrainTravel

Wigan. Marinated in a soft, constant drizzle all through December #haiku #TrainTravel

Poets...we're looking for slammers to take part in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Slam on the evening of Saturday 31st January. Shout up if you'd like your name in the hat to take part. Expressions of interest need to be with us by midnight Christmas Eve. @pandemonialists.bsky.social

The PDF version of the Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from The Black Country Society online shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from the Black Country Hub, Merry Hill Centre. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Add a copy to your Christmas shopping list. A great stocking filler! @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from Red House Cone, Wordsley. 96 pages full of Black Country goodness. Includes a review of Graham Fisher’s ‘The Blue Vase’. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from New Art Gallery Walsall. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes features on Sister Dora, and the graves in Queen Street Cemetery. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes Part 2 of the article on Great War soldier Richard Mainwaring. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine now available to buy from Ashwoods, DY6 0AE. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes an article on the Brooke Robinson collection housed at Himley Hall, and Christmas pudding memories of ‘Stir-up Sunday’ @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine now available to buy from Framers Gallery in Worcester Street, Wolverhampton. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes a feature on Low Hill’s centenary, and an interview with Wolvo creative, Amarjit Nar. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

The Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine is now available to buy from the Black Country Living Museum shop. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes a ghost walk through the BCLM site. A perfect read for long Winter evenings. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social

Winter edition of The Blackcountryman magazine now available to buy from RS News in Wolverhampton Street, Willenhall. 96 pages full of sparkly Black Country goodness. Includes features on Sister Dora, former Baggie’s grounds, and Wrights Darlo Grocers from yesteryear. @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social