if I haven't been fucking around, then why do I keep finding out

Many thanks to @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social for selecting my poetry collection, published by Bad Betty Press, as the Book of the Month for October. You can win a copy of my book by answering the question at the bottom of this page www.scottishbooktrust.com/competitions...

Playing Hades 2: 'all this gameplay keeps getting in the way of hot greek gods' 😡 #Hades2

Westminster politicians with nae clue about Scotland lecturing me on how to integrate, when this place is home to me and alien to them, when they come to Scotland twice a year to do a photo ops with a can of Irn Bru somewhere in frame. Piss off, I'm right where I should be.

REQUEST FOR BLUESKY HELP i have put a couple of courgettes in the fridge and am very nervous that, when i get off work at half 6, i am going to forget to transfer them into my rucksack.

RIP Brian Patten

A good time to re-read this Lucille Clifton poem, always a good time.

Sudden intense desire for guacamole

Yeah it’s like a knee support doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with knees you could even wear it as a kind of balaclava

On turning 40, the influence of Tony Harrison and some stuff about leaves. Oh, and a poem from my next collection. open.substack.com/pub/helenmor...

Just a reminder that the Cafe Writers International poetry competition is open. Our wonderful (sole) judge this year is Jessica Mookherjee. Top prize is £1000 www.cafewriters.co.uk/home/poetry-...

Just realised it’s #negroniweek so sharing again. #livesofthefemalepoets is now out! Cheers!

I grew up in a homophobic Slovakia which just institutionalized homophobia and discrimination of LGBTQ+ communities. Shame on all who made this happen.

jason, listening to me and julio down by the schoolyard: are there little Monkey sounds at the end of this song. why me: you can’t put a little man in a newsboy cap on cocaine

too many people think the answer to "I've written something, what now" is getting published when really the answer is cleaning your room, making a roast, refilling the bird feeder. writing is also the living we do. it's not a way to get recognition in the same way that flossing isn't.

Michael Burkard

the booker prize judges make a lot of fuss about having to read 153 books. but assuming an average weight of 750g per book, that comes in at 115kg of literature - or just under the weight of a single adult male ostrich

Cold Turkey’s Honey Roast Hope is in the oven. That’s @holliemcnish.bsky.social, Withered Hand, Gemma Cairney, me & a super special guest TBA. 05/12 in Edinburgh. That’s unfiltered soppiness & joy with a dose of aw that glisters. Early Bird Tickets out now. 🎫: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cold-turke...

More great live footage from our midsummer night's eve show for @thenestcollective.bsky.social! Here's our broken folk version of Scarborough Fair for voice and body percussion... youtu.be/Ly9_M_m7NP4?...

NETTLES: A Launch & Showcase 16 Oct, @byleaveswelive.bsky.social, Edinburgh – free Launching NETTLES, @nazaretranea.bsky.social’s debut poetry collection, plus readings from four of the young poets taking part in Scotland’s Next Generation Young Makars scheme www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nettles-a-...

A mood.

BREAKING NEWS: New job role at WEM! 📢 We're hiring a Marketing and Admin Assistant to support our social media and marketing comms, as well as the day-to-day functioning of the wider WEM team. If you're passionate about championing local lit development, we want to hear from you: bit.ly/MARKADMIN

🇯🇲 FROM THE CARIBBEAN TO CALEDONIA 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 On a sun-kissed Autumn’s afternoon on the banks of the River Nith two National Poets sat down to chat about Rabbie Burns, Bob Marley, Dante’s Inferno, the Gaelic and Jamaican tongues, and much more. #poetrypodcast www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/podcast/from...

Winchester Poetry Festival is approaching. online events are so important for accessibility, but they’re also costly to run & we haven’t sold many online tickets yet. Just wanted to shout that our headline events are live-streamed and BSL interpreted! 1/3 www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org/what-s-on

Poeting in London in December, with some good pals. Do come along

Some writing prompts responding to an Inua Ellams poem ✍️🏻

Writing in the Guardian, @pollytoynbee.bsky.social calls out dangerous supremacism: “On the Robinson march in London, the great wooden crosses looked like armaments… The marchers’ “Christ is King” flags declared a radicalised ethno-supremacism.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Back pain and so anxious I could vomit. Hello Tuesday

The truth: we need migration. The problem: too many politicians are terrified to say it. Why? They're led by a) toxicity of the charlatans & b) wealthy media organisations who demand these useful distractions rather than us talking about inequality. Reject it. Draw the line.

John Betjeman

My poetry pamphlet Summers Are Other is available for pre-order now from Rack Press: rackpress.blogspot.com?m=1. I also have copies available if you message me. And they're out in the very occasional wild! Official launch in London on 29 October...more info to follow. 🙏

We have BAD LANGUAGE launch! Weds 12 Nov, 6.30pm @burleyfisher.bsky.social Free but booking essential. Come thru! burleyfisherbooks.com/products/lau...

Over 150 calls for literary competitions & submissions including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography, & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in September 2025. Please share & best of luck! www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

If you want to talk to your kids about climate change without terrifying them, this is a good, hopeful place to start… www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

Anne Carson Workshop Survivors ASSEMBLE

I got to chair one of my favourite writers last night, Ocean Vuong, and it was glorious. Two images that capture the soppy lustre / soft sapience of the night captured by @shaunmurawski.bsky.social ✨. Gooey thanks to the bookish brilliance of @portybooks.bsky.social for producing this splendour 📚.

⏱️ Time is ticking... The deadline for PRIMERS entries is midnight TONIGHT Tuesday 9th September BST Read the full criteria and how to enter here: ninearchespress.com/primers UK poets looking for mentoring and publishing, don't miss out!

I said recently that "gender-critical" (transphobic) men are all about possessing women, not "protecting" them. And it applies here too: these men see white women and girls as their property, and the imaginary migrant predator is violating their property rights.

This motion just passed unanimously. It's times like these that 5 million trade unionist voices matter. The Labour Party and Bridget Philipson were lambasted in the speeches.

Go into academia, they said

So excited for this

‘It’s hard to articulate what Sturgeon’s feminism meant to someone like me who moved back to Scotland in the mid-1990s, a country stifled by all-male clubs and all-male panels, with its politics and journalism dominated by “big beasts”.’ @danigaravelli.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

If you see this, repost with a vampire that's not Dracula.

NEW STAFF PICKS TABLE - It's a truth universally acknowledged that our staff have the best taste around! Now they have a chance to shine on a dedicated table, slap bang in the middle of Typewronger. Pop by and have a gander - maybe you will discover your new favourite read...

Launch tickets for 23rd October now available! Free but you must register www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blue-diode...

Next Thursday in the gorgeous Brick Lane Bookshop!

Cover reveal! Coming end of the month from Blue Diode Press

An #Otwituary for fashion designer #GiorgioArmani My suit does not wear me, but it is empty without me. I stoop to tie my lace; it bends with me. At day’s end, we climb the stairs, undress, and hang each other in the dark wardrobe of sleep.

Is science fiction dead or dying? Some wise words from Ursula K Le Guin to the TLS a decade ago:

The Loud Poets Open Mic is back and at a NEW VENUE! Our home, our base, our favourite place! The Scottish Storytelling Centre Our first date back is September 29, featuring the amazing Arlo Bayne Free Entry, 7pm start Sign up to the open mic by filling out the form here: forms.gle/vqTAqqnt8rdZ...