Rhys Owain Williams
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rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Rhys Owain Williams
@rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
600 followers 1K following 150 posts
Writer of poetry, fiction and other things | That Lone Ship (Parthian Books) | Hay Festival Writer At Work | He/Him | https://linktr.ee/rhysowainwilliams
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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · Oct 18
It’s #OCDAwarenessWeek. Here’s a poem I wrote after being diagnosed with OCD a couple of years ago, originally published in Field’s issue on the theme of ‘control’.
Here's What Happens When You Enter a Black Hole. Of all the ways I’m afraid to die, falling into a black hole has become less of a concern in adulthood. I no longer fear the great void will open up at the end of my childhood street, a suburban supernova at the turn to Enfield Close. Instead, now I worry about cardiovascular disease, bomb plots, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is my uneven skull harbouring brain tumours? The doctor says No. The night before another birthday, I find a cluster of grey hairs in my beard. My body still surprises me. Last week, it brought a deep splinter to the surface of my finger, presented it from the wound like a gift. Quietus enveloping his deathbed, the post-Christian poet Wallace Stevens sought Catholicism’s comforting embrace. Empty space will do that to you. For years after he died, my grandmother still played my grandfather’s lottery numbers. Now, each year, I retrace her Good Friday pilgrimage to the chip shop for battered cod. Bring her back too. But the dead people I know are far quieter than I’d like them to be. When the landing light pings on in the middle of the night, I know it’s just a malfunction in the switch. Once you reach a certain age, the appearance of a black hole above your house seems less likely. Still, one minute you can be taking washing down from the line, that mix of sun-dried polyester and fabric softener, and all of a sudden your stepfather has died all over again. I used to think the best way to control intrusive thoughts was to think them to death, follow each to their illogical conclusion. Now I try to let them pass by like trains in the night. Alight as soon as possible if one picks me up off-guard. But my mind is quite amusing really. Constantly ruminating upon death. Collecting its little trinkets without my permission. Would you laugh if I told you that Google Earth makes me anxious? That whole 3D world without people where you can plunge to the depths south of Newfoundland to see CGI rusticles hang from The Titanic’s hull. The News says that one treasure of the thawing permafrost is a mammoth bone. A petrified gift from those who roamed what were then Arctic grasslands. Just north, now, of Moscow’s pale moth flitting above the nuclear button’s flame. Of all the ways I’m afraid to die, falling into a black hole has become more of a concern in adulthood. External forces stretching me thinner than paper. The mirage of control disappearing, my narrative unravels. And just beyond the event horizon, each time seeming a little more ajar: the universe’s exit door. www.rhysowainwilliams.com. First published in Field #18.
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
lonestartallboi.bsky.social
20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it.

The law only ever serves capital.
guardian-world-rss.bsky.social Please Follow the Official Guardian Account @guardian-world-rss.bsky.social · Jan 8
‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says
‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says
Pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their productsBusiness live – latest updatesThe developer OpenAI has said it would be impossible to create tools like its groundbreaking chatbot ChatGPT without access to copyrighted material, as pressure grows on artificial intelligence firms over the content used to train their products.Chatbots such as ChatGPT and image generators like Stable Diffusion are “trained” on a vast trove of data taken from the internet, with much of it covered by copyright – a legal protection against someone’s work being used without permission. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2024 at 4:34 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Lore update: my 3-year-old says Garfield doesn’t love lasagne he loves sushi. It makes more sense I suppose.
November 8, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
natholborow.bsky.social
A little extract of Wild Running in The Independent this morning, exploring Pen Y Fan and focusing on women's safety in running 🏃‍♀️ @serenbooks.bsky.social

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/w...
Wild running gives me freedom, but I’m always looking over my shoulder
In this abridged extract from award-winning poet and writer Natalie Holborow’s new book ‘Wild Running’, she follows a trail around the Brecon Beacons in South Wales while reflecting on women’s safety
www.independent.co.uk
September 7, 2025 at 7:09 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Best stairwell in Wales (if there is such a thing)
Stairwell with beige tiled walls featuring vertical blue and brown stripes. A wooden handrail with black metal supports runs along the stairs, which are covered in light gray flooring with black stair edges. Stairwell with beige tiled walls featuring vertical blue and brown stripes. A wooden handrail with black metal supports runs along the stairs, which are covered in light gray flooring with black stair edges. Stairwell with beige tiled walls featuring vertical blue and brown stripes. A wooden handrail with black metal supports runs along the stairs, which are covered in light gray flooring with black stair edges.
August 30, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
mariellisdunning.bsky.social
The term 'wits' / 'witsh' first appeared in William Salisbury's Welsh-English dictionary in 1547, borrowed from the English 'witch.' Before then, the Welsh didn't really have a word to describe witches. Accusations in Welsh records are full of 'witses' & 'witshes.'
August 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
I've never written a sestina before, but I've had an idea for one for a couple of years now without ever sitting down to write it. Finally pushing myself to get at least a first draft ready by the end of this month, and thought I would 'live tweet' (or whatever the Bluesky version is) as I go.
August 23, 2025 at 8:44 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
I’ve got a poem in the new issue of @gutter.bsky.social, available to buy at guttermag.co.uk/getgutter/p/gutter-32. ‘The First Law of Thermodynamics’ is written in memory of my stepdad, who died in March 2020 a week before the first lockdown. Can’t believe over 5 years have now passed.
Hand holding a copy of Gutter magazine, Issur 32. The cover is red with bold vertical strokes of red, orange and yellow paint in the centre. The title ‘Gutter’ is printed in large yellow text at the top, with the subtitle ‘New Scottish and international writing’ beneath. A close-up photograph of an open magazine showing a poem titled ‘The First Law of Thermodynamics’ by Rhys Owain Williams, with the subtitle ‘i.m. my stepfather.’ The page number 44 is visible in the top left corner, and ‘Gutter 32’ in the top right. The poem is cut off, but the visible text reads: The week before the world closed down, I lit a candle in the Hallgrímskirkja not yet knowing you had gone. The coin dropped in the church’s box a ritual copied from my mother, who lights them to remember her own. Though I don’t believe in divine light, within a house of prayer’s quiet pause I light a candle for her too: the grandmother that Alzheimer's made sure I barely knew. A woman certain in her faith—white-haired pilgrim to Golgotha’s skull, the empty tomb. But the candle lit on that icy Reykjavík afternoon now belongs to you.
August 20, 2025 at 5:53 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Been thinking this week how most of the poems I write come from sitting down and choosing to work on something, but every so often that spark of inspiration hits and all of a sudden an entire first draft has appeared out of nowhere.
July 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
natholborow.bsky.social
This has been a dream to work on and a nice break to write about history, creativity and falling down hills on my backside in beautiful South Wales. Out September 15th! Pre-order here: www.serenbooks.com/book/wild-ru...

#running #writing #trailrunning
serenbooks.bsky.social Seren Books @serenbooks.bsky.social · Jul 15
Coming soon: @natholborow.bsky.social encourages you to get out and explore South Wales in trainers in her new book ‘Wild Running’, publishing 15 September. Available to pre-order now www.serenbooks.com/book/wild-ru...
This cover shows a vibrant illustration of Three Cliffs Bay with a runner in bright leggings stepping into the foreground. The text reads: Wild Running South Wales. Natalie Ann Holborow.
July 15, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
mariellisdunning.bsky.social
❀ WITSH ❀

There's just 3 months to go until Witsh hits bookshelves! I'm so excited to be able to share this story with the world.
✬
I don't want to inundate anyone but just to say, pre orders are open: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/wits...
✬
#Witchcraft #Witchrature #Wales #WritingSky #HistoricFiction
July 23, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
emily-vanderploeg.bsky.social
A Suppertime Special Edition! I am going to be serializing my novel, “Are You There?”, on Substack over the next ten weeks (starting next Monday). Check out my latest post to see how it all works and gear up for a fun 🤩 summer read 🏖️ 👻 emilyvanderploeg.substack.com/p/are-you-th...
July 14, 2025 at 7:24 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Bit late posting about this but was so happy to have a new poem published in the latest issue of @poetrywales.bsky.social – a special edition feat 60 new Welsh poets to celebrate the magazine’s 60th anniversary. Diolch to @zoebrigley.bsky.social for choosing it and here’s to the next 60 years of PW!
A hand holds up the Spring 2025 issue of Poetry Wales magazine against a backdrop of lush green foliage. The magazine cover is green and black, featuring the headline ‘60 New Welsh Poets for 60 Years of Poetry Wales: from Abeer Ameer to Zillah Bowes.’ The bottom half of the cover is a collage of past Poetry Wales covers, showcasing a variety of designs, colours and styles over the years.
July 1, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
ksandsoconnor.bsky.social
Librarians and primary school teachers! Join me and @darrenchetty.bsky.social for this event on July 10th in Cardiff on Creating Inclusive Libraries and Curricula and get a free copy of Beyond the Secret Garden!
Poster for July 10th event with Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor, ‘Creating Inclusive Libraries and Curricula’ with the National Literacy Trust
June 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Signed in to LinkedIn for the first time in over 2 years. It's always been full of nonsense, but I see they're now making up geographical areas on there too.
A screenshot of my LinkedIn profile header: Rhys Owain Williams, a 'Writer, Editor, and Proofreader' based in the 'Greater Swansea Area'. Profile picture shows me wearing a red and black checkered shirt, standing in front of a rustic metal background. Pronouns listed are He/Him. The profile includes 102 connections, a 'Contact info' link, and affiliations with The Crunch and Swansea University. A button for adding a verification badge is visible.
June 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making the advert at the top of my inbox look like an unread email.
May 17, 2025 at 7:52 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Can't believe it's been 20 years since the last game at @swansofficial.bsky.social's Vetch Field, a 2–1 win that saw us raise the FAW Premier Cup. Here's a poem I wrote about that final final-whistle, originally published in 'That Lone Ship' (available from @parthianbooks.bsky.social). #UppaJacks
Vetch Field Elegy Swansea City vs. Wrexham, FAW Premier Cup Final, Swansea, Wales, 11th May 2005 On your deathbed we stripped you. Ripped out red plastic seats and advertisement boards like thieves stealing gold from fresh bodies. The Vetch clock, not yet stopped but definitely slowing, tick-tocked our final minutes away as Roger Evans, muffled by soot, whispered down chimneys into Sandfields living-rooms for the last time. Then, with makeshift spades we dug shallow graves across your boot-worn pitch. Taking turf home to place on the mantel, to plant in back-gardens, to say we were there when that man in black sounded the final final-whistle at our beloved tin shed. And as the smell of warm piss and fried onions drifted above the floodlights, getting lost on its way to the bay, we poured out into the streets like black and white tears. – Rhys Owain Williams rhysowainwilliams.com First published in That Lone Ship A large crowd of passionate Swansea City football fans, dressed mostly in white jerseys, cheer and raise their arms in unison under the roof of a packed stadium terrace, with a football visible in mid-air above them.
May 11, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
darrenchetty.bsky.social
Publication Day! Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered I'm Going to Make a Friend. It's out today.

Illustrated superbly by Sandhya Prabhat. Published by
@littletigeruk.bsky.social

Here's a lovely review by @edfinch.bsky.social
for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social
: justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
May 1, 2025 at 9:23 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Happy Publication Day to @darrenchetty.bsky.social for #ImGoingToMakeAFriend – a book that’s quickly become a favourite in our house!
Three wooden wall-mounted bookshelves display colorful children's books and plush toys. The middle shelf prominently features the book 'I'm Going to Make a Friend' by Darren Chetty and Sandhya Prabhat, flanked by a crocheted giraffe toy. A panda plush toy is on the lower shelf beside books including 'Maps' and 'Meet the Dinosaurs'. The top shelf holds additional books and a Bluey stuffed toy.
May 1, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
darrenchetty.bsky.social
My first ever picture book is out May 1st. A lovely review
-and link to order - here: www.letterboxlibrary.com/product-page...

I'm Going to Make A Friend is illustrated by the amazing
Sandhya Prabhat and published by
@littletigeruk.bsky.social
April 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
Great poetry-writing advice here (as expected) from @natholborow.bsky.social. Chuffed to see my poem ‘Vetch Field Elegy’ get a mention too 🦢
April 30, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
natholborow.bsky.social
"Poems live not just in what happened, but in the infinite ways it can be seen."

Blogging/procrastinating. Put a few tips in here that I've been given and have helped me - I hope you find value in them too 💖✨

natalieholborow.com/2025/04/29/h...
How do you Surprise your Readers in Poetry?
Writing poetry can feel challenging, particularly when seeking inspiration. The author reflects on how poems often surprise us through their unexpected turns, or “volta,” which enhance …
natalieholborow.com
April 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
like acupuncture needles,
twenty wind turbines
pinprick the hilltop

#Haiku for March from That Lone Ship (@parthianbooks.bsky.social, 2018)
March 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
I usually only add 10 new poems to this thread each #WorldPoetryDay, but 2025 has been a bumper edition as I've also added poems from previous years' Twitter postings in readiness for shutting down my account on there. Apologies if I flooded your feed, normal service will resume on WPD2026 I'm sure.
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · Mar 21
It's #WorldPoetryDay, so I’m going to share some of my favourite 300-character-friendly poems throughout the day.

(If your poem is featured in this thread and you'd prefer it not to be, let me know).
March 22, 2025 at 12:07 AM
rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social
I think about this line from Great Expectations pretty much every day throughout March
A copy of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens open on Chapter 15. The highlighted line is ‘It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.’
March 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams
hananelizabethissa.bsky.social
“In poetry we hold our culture.” Nick Makoha

Check out Poetry Off The Shelf’s latest episode where we deep dive into the Welsh language and culture, cynghanedd poetry, and the Cerdd Tafod Arall project.
Thanks again to Helena, Nick, Ciara and Hammad 💚

open.spotify.com/episode/11WB...
To the Brink
Poetry Off the Shelf · Episode
open.spotify.com
March 5, 2025 at 12:12 PM