The Moth Magazine
@themothmagazine.bsky.social
International art & lit magazine. One of the world's biggest prizes for a poem. Short story, nature writing & art prizes. Also: @thecaterpillarmag
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Hello Bluesky #WritingCommunity! We're the home of The Moth Magazine, an iconic Irish printed art & lit magazine, and The Moth Poetry Prize, one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem. Plus annual short story and nature writing prizes, and much more...
A sleepy Saturday throwback, 'All Hands Belong' by Beth Booth - from Issue 37 #MothArchives 🐕
November 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
A sleepy Saturday throwback, 'All Hands Belong' by Beth Booth - from Issue 37 #MothArchives 🐕
November 14, 2025 at 7:26 PM
❛ It seems to me madness to wake up in the morning and do something other than paint, considering that one may not wake up the following morning.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
November 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
❛ It seems to me madness to wake up in the morning and do something other than paint, considering that one may not wake up the following morning.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
Frank Auerbach, who died #OTD one year ago today.
This week's Moth Studios challenge is to paint / draw a root vegetable. The work must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
November 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
This week's Moth Studios challenge is to paint / draw a root vegetable. The work must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Lizz Lovell
The Moth Poetry Prize's past judges include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Billy Collins, Nick Laird, Warsan Shire, Hannah Sullivan, Fiona Benson, Louise Glück and more.
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
November 9, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The Moth Poetry Prize's past judges include Claudia Rankine, Marie Howe, Billy Collins, Nick Laird, Warsan Shire, Hannah Sullivan, Fiona Benson, Louise Glück and more.
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
We're delighted to add Ishion Hutchinson to the list this year!
Open now. Enter here: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
❛ Everyone's really fucking lazy. They want me to be one thing. They want to pin down everybody and they want them to be one thing they can call confessional or experimental... I tried them all out because I just have to. And I'm not one thing.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
November 8, 2025 at 4:57 PM
❛ Everyone's really fucking lazy. They want me to be one thing. They want to pin down everybody and they want them to be one thing they can call confessional or experimental... I tried them all out because I just have to. And I'm not one thing.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
Alice Notley, born #OTD in 1945.
‘The Moth magazine is a thing of beauty’ Caoilinn Hughes
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
November 7, 2025 at 8:05 PM
‘The Moth magazine is a thing of beauty’ Caoilinn Hughes
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
'It manages to have gravitas and coolness simultaneously’ National Poetry Library
'It’s beautiful. I always want to frame it ’ Fiona Benson
Back issues from just €5, including P&P...
🦋 bit.ly/pastmoths
Hello November! 👋 The penultimate month. Who has a favourite piece of poetry that reminds them of the season?
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
November 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hello November! 👋 The penultimate month. Who has a favourite piece of poetry that reminds them of the season?
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
We'll start with this gem from (former Moth interviewee) Billy Collins...
A little #ThrowbackTuesday to this stunning piece by Dutch artist Kenn Gregoire! 🪁
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
November 4, 2025 at 8:53 PM
A little #ThrowbackTuesday to this stunning piece by Dutch artist Kenn Gregoire! 🪁
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
Originally from Issue 12 of The Moth.
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Time. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
November 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Time. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The challenge is open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Edvard Munch
The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for individual poems.
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
November 2, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Moth Poetry Prize is one of the biggest prizes in the world for individual poems.
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Open to anyone over 16, each year we hear from thousands of new and established poets from over 50 countries worldwide.
Is this the year you join them?
🌟 bit.ly/mothpoetry25
❛ I am a simple man and I use simple materials: Ivory Black, Vermilion, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Flake White and no medium. That’s all I’ve ever used in my paintings.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
November 1, 2025 at 7:47 PM
❛ I am a simple man and I use simple materials: Ivory Black, Vermilion, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Flake White and no medium. That’s all I’ve ever used in my paintings.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
L. S. Lowry, born #OTD in 1887.
Happy Halloween, friends of The Moth! 👻
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
October 31, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Happy Halloween, friends of The Moth! 👻
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
(Painting: 'The Night' Aksel Waldermar Johannessen)
❛ When I am working, I am only aware of the canvas and what it tells me to do... I am certainly not aware of myself. Painting is a way of forgetting oneself.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
October 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM
❛ When I am working, I am only aware of the canvas and what it tells me to do... I am certainly not aware of myself. Painting is a way of forgetting oneself.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
Artist Joan Mitchell, who died #OTD in 1992.
❛ I saw her when she materialized, / shadowed and hooked, at the foot of my bed, / in her smoked cloud of hair.
We couldn't resist a Halloween treat from the archives – Bethany W. Pope's poem 'The Witch', originally from Issue 41. 🧹 #MothArchives
We couldn't resist a Halloween treat from the archives – Bethany W. Pope's poem 'The Witch', originally from Issue 41. 🧹 #MothArchives
October 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
❛ I saw her when she materialized, / shadowed and hooked, at the foot of my bed, / in her smoked cloud of hair.
We couldn't resist a Halloween treat from the archives – Bethany W. Pope's poem 'The Witch', originally from Issue 41. 🧹 #MothArchives
We couldn't resist a Halloween treat from the archives – Bethany W. Pope's poem 'The Witch', originally from Issue 41. 🧹 #MothArchives
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Halloween!
Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Good luck!
🎨 Paul Delvaux
Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Good luck!
🎨 Paul Delvaux
October 27, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is Halloween!
Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Good luck!
🎨 Paul Delvaux
Your artwork must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB). The challenge is open to everyone. Good luck!
🎨 Paul Delvaux
❛A converted barn all to myself, beautiful countryside on the doorstep... I managed about a months worth of writing condensed into one inspired week. – Susan Allott, author
The Moth Retreat offers accommodation for writers and artists of all disciplines in rural Ireland.
www.themothmagazine.com
The Moth Retreat offers accommodation for writers and artists of all disciplines in rural Ireland.
www.themothmagazine.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:14 PM
❛A converted barn all to myself, beautiful countryside on the doorstep... I managed about a months worth of writing condensed into one inspired week. – Susan Allott, author
The Moth Retreat offers accommodation for writers and artists of all disciplines in rural Ireland.
www.themothmagazine.com
The Moth Retreat offers accommodation for writers and artists of all disciplines in rural Ireland.
www.themothmagazine.com
🌟 Just one poem is all it takes... 🌟
Entries to this year's Moth Poetry Prize are now open – one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem.
Don't miss the chance to win a share of this year's €11,000 prize pot.
Head to our website for all the details: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Entries to this year's Moth Poetry Prize are now open – one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem.
Don't miss the chance to win a share of this year's €11,000 prize pot.
Head to our website for all the details: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
October 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
🌟 Just one poem is all it takes... 🌟
Entries to this year's Moth Poetry Prize are now open – one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem.
Don't miss the chance to win a share of this year's €11,000 prize pot.
Head to our website for all the details: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
Entries to this year's Moth Poetry Prize are now open – one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem.
Don't miss the chance to win a share of this year's €11,000 prize pot.
Head to our website for all the details: bit.ly/mothpoetry25
For today's #ThrowbackThursday, beautiful floral details from Japanese artist Naomi Okubo's 'A Dialogue', which appeared in Issue 29. 💐
October 23, 2025 at 6:19 PM
For today's #ThrowbackThursday, beautiful floral details from Japanese artist Naomi Okubo's 'A Dialogue', which appeared in Issue 29. 💐
❛ A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight...
Ursula K. Le Guin, born #OTD in 1929.
Ursula K. Le Guin, born #OTD in 1929.
October 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
❛ A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight...
Ursula K. Le Guin, born #OTD in 1929.
Ursula K. Le Guin, born #OTD in 1929.
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is pilgrimage. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Paul Sèrusier
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Paul Sèrusier
October 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
The theme of this week's Moth Studios Challenge is pilgrimage. The painting / drawing must be completed within two hours and submitted from 9-11pm on Tuesday evening to The Moth Studios (by private message on FB).
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Paul Sèrusier
Open to everyone. Please share and good luck!
🎨 Paul Sèrusier
❛ What. / The fuck. / Is this leaf. / Doing. In my–– / And this. / And fucking this.
A poem for your Sunday reset – by Dawn Watson, from Issue 25. 🍂
A poem for your Sunday reset – by Dawn Watson, from Issue 25. 🍂
October 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
❛ What. / The fuck. / Is this leaf. / Doing. In my–– / And this. / And fucking this.
A poem for your Sunday reset – by Dawn Watson, from Issue 25. 🍂
A poem for your Sunday reset – by Dawn Watson, from Issue 25. 🍂
❛ I was worried about being an artist. That was the only thing I felt I could do—draw and paint—and it was the only thing I wanted to do. Yet, for some strange reason, I felt that it wasn’t of use to society. Where I even got that idea is beyond me.
Nancy Spero, who died #OTD in 2009.
Nancy Spero, who died #OTD in 2009.
October 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
❛ I was worried about being an artist. That was the only thing I felt I could do—draw and paint—and it was the only thing I wanted to do. Yet, for some strange reason, I felt that it wasn’t of use to society. Where I even got that idea is beyond me.
Nancy Spero, who died #OTD in 2009.
Nancy Spero, who died #OTD in 2009.
In case you missed it...
We're so excited to be welcoming multi-award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson as this year's judge of The Moth Poetry Prize.
If you don't know us, we're one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem – running annually with a total prize pot of €11,000...
We're so excited to be welcoming multi-award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson as this year's judge of The Moth Poetry Prize.
If you don't know us, we're one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem – running annually with a total prize pot of €11,000...
October 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
In case you missed it...
We're so excited to be welcoming multi-award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson as this year's judge of The Moth Poetry Prize.
If you don't know us, we're one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem – running annually with a total prize pot of €11,000...
We're so excited to be welcoming multi-award-winning poet Ishion Hutchinson as this year's judge of The Moth Poetry Prize.
If you don't know us, we're one of the world's biggest prizes for a single poem – running annually with a total prize pot of €11,000...