What a joy tonight it was @otsfestival.bsky.social #Sheffield for the #poetry celebration of 40 years of #TheNorth from @poetrybusiness.bsky.social. Wonderful poetry, poets and readings and I have my beautiful book from @bethdaviespoet.bsky.social to indulge in.

"Everybody’s life is worthy of poetry." In our latest Meet the Locals interview, Sheffield Poet Laureate for 2024–2026 @bethdaviespoet.bsky.social talks to us about creative community, accessibility in poetry, and the potential for inspiration in everything > ourfaveplaces.co.uk/meet-the-loc...

On Tuesday 10th June, I'm performing at the first ever Culture Club, a new networking event for people across Sheffield's Culture Sector to meet and connect. I'm looking forward to sharing my words, hearing music from Sound Café, and talking to fellow creatives! www.eventbrite.com/e/culture-cl...

You will never "find" time to write. You have to take it. Steal it. Defend it like a dragon hoarding gold. Like a mama bear on cocaine. Like a sleep-deprived goblin who just discovered caffeine. Take your time. Fight for it. Hiss if necessary. 🐍

Genuinely love hanging out with poets and saying "Title of your next pamphlet" or "That's a poem" anytime anyone says a vaguely unusual phrase or tells an interesting story. It's like, maybe there is poetry in everything!

This past week I've been walking around muttering my own poems under my breath in public - a sure sign of an exciting event coming up! 😄 Looking forward to performing my work in a more suitable context than the bus stop at @youngidentitymcr.bsky.social's One Mic Stand slam tonight.

If you're not already subscribed to Gregory's podcast The Poems We Made Along The Way, you're missing out on warm and insightful conversations with the likes of Helen Mort, Roger Robinson, Ella Frears, and many more amazing poets! Subscribe now and you can catch up before Season 3 😊 tr.ee/MS3R7Y1hKV

Ah, everyone has a 'poetry voice', what matters is that you make it YOURS.

While practicing my poems for One Mic Slam (Manchester, 19th Feb), I'm thinking back to a brilliant workshop years ago where @shortestwitch.bsky.social and @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social got us to recite our poems like stand-up comics or circus ringleaders or campfire storytellers or classroom teachers.

I've recently decided to start writing more poems about random facts that strike my interest or send me into Wikipedia rabbit holes. I'm operating under the philosophy: If it's worth ranting about in the pub, then it's worth a poem - or at least an attempt at one.

Excited to be competing at One Mic Stand poetry slam in a few weeks! 🤩

Lately I've been spending more time going to cafés to write. The only drawback is the occupational hazard of my own nosiness. The poems compete for my attention with a small child running in circles squeaking like a dolphin, or two teenagers passionately snogging in Costa on a Sunday lunchtime.

Grateful for my good friend thesaurus dot com today. I love synonyms. I love words that share similar meanings with other words but never overlap exactly. I love that I can think to myself "what's a word that's like ... but not ...?" and an abundance of possibilities can be waiting there for me.

I adored this tragic poem from @poetbex.bsky.social in the current @rialtopoetry.bsky.social