Wes Viola
@wesviola.bsky.social
Library worker, Elder Bard, former demo-listener for Glasto. And stuff.
Latest and upcoming stuff by me: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
New writing round-up
FRESH WORD-COMBINATIONS FROM THE INDOMITABLE MIND OF WES VIOLA
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Latest and upcoming stuff by me: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
Read my poem 'Wild Man' up at @eunoiareview.bsky.social today. (It won't take you long)
>> eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/w... <<
>> eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/w... <<
July 22, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Read my poem 'Wild Man' up at @eunoiareview.bsky.social today. (It won't take you long)
>> eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/w... <<
>> eunoiareview.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/w... <<
A digital version of ‘Thirteen Names for the West’ - my *very green* poem cycle about the Wicked Witch of Oz fame - is now available to for download on a name-your-price basis. I hope you’ll get yourself one! wesviola.gumroad.com/l/13names 💚
Thirteen Names for the West
'Thirteen Names for the West' is a poem cycle inspired by the Wicked Witch of the West - and her many and varied guises in adaptations of the Oz story: from early film, through MGM's Judy Garland-star...
wesviola.gumroad.com
July 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
A digital version of ‘Thirteen Names for the West’ - my *very green* poem cycle about the Wicked Witch of Oz fame - is now available to for download on a name-your-price basis. I hope you’ll get yourself one! wesviola.gumroad.com/l/13names 💚
July 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
"...but I heard
that the heart of the galaxy smells
like raspberries and rum..."
My poem 'Song & Dance' appears in the music-themed Summer Solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer, free online now.
eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summe...
that the heart of the galaxy smells
like raspberries and rum..."
My poem 'Song & Dance' appears in the music-themed Summer Solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer, free online now.
eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summe...
Summer Solstice 2025
~ Poetry ~Ars Poetica: A Mythic Triptych by Christopher Greiner The Banshee by Hayley Arrington A Choir in Gray by Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman Fool’s Song by Simon MacCulloch Hymn …
eternalhauntedsummer.com
June 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
"...but I heard
that the heart of the galaxy smells
like raspberries and rum..."
My poem 'Song & Dance' appears in the music-themed Summer Solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer, free online now.
eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summe...
that the heart of the galaxy smells
like raspberries and rum..."
My poem 'Song & Dance' appears in the music-themed Summer Solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer, free online now.
eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summe...
Reposted by Wes Viola
Worth considering that one reason Bluesky doesn't always feel super fun is that current events are relentlessly horrifying and bad
June 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Worth considering that one reason Bluesky doesn't always feel super fun is that current events are relentlessly horrifying and bad
'Thirteen Names for the West' is my poem cycle inspired by the many and various incarnations of the Wicked Witch of the West in popular culture over the last century and more.
Now available in a numbered first edition of 100 - follow the link for more details.
wesviola.substack.com/p/thirteen-n...
Now available in a numbered first edition of 100 - follow the link for more details.
wesviola.substack.com/p/thirteen-n...
Thirteen Names for the West
A poem cycle inspired by the many and various incarnations of The Wicked Witch of the West
wesviola.substack.com
June 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
'Thirteen Names for the West' is my poem cycle inspired by the many and various incarnations of the Wicked Witch of the West in popular culture over the last century and more.
Now available in a numbered first edition of 100 - follow the link for more details.
wesviola.substack.com/p/thirteen-n...
Now available in a numbered first edition of 100 - follow the link for more details.
wesviola.substack.com/p/thirteen-n...
Reposted by Wes Viola
There are still many zine distros that are thriving.
June 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
There are still many zine distros that are thriving.
Are zine distros still a thing, or did they wither and die in the early 21st Century?
June 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Are zine distros still a thing, or did they wither and die in the early 21st Century?
Uh... let's *not* let this be what we take from this. A lot of things could do with disrupting.
We should never trust anyone who uses the word 'disrupt' as a positive thing. (From 2022) www.standard.co.uk/business/bus...
How to be a CEO podcast: Unbound CEO, Wil Harris
“Publishing hasn’t changed since the Middle Ages”
www.standard.co.uk
June 1, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Uh... let's *not* let this be what we take from this. A lot of things could do with disrupting.
I think it's really clever how they used 'The Chain' in the trailer for that new Formula 1 film so it seems like all the UK TV coverage of races throughout the years until now has just been building up to it.
May 31, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I think it's really clever how they used 'The Chain' in the trailer for that new Formula 1 film so it seems like all the UK TV coverage of races throughout the years until now has just been building up to it.
Just in case anyone's missed this shitshow, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING DIRECT FROM UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS. *Do* check on authors' own pages how best to get hold of their work.
DO NOT SUBMIT WORK TO UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS.
DO NOT SUBMIT WORK TO UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS.
So there you have it. My ex-publishers who last year stopped paying me for the seven books I'd written for them, have today gone back on their promise that some of the money that they owe me and their other authors would come through. I should have guessed.. www.thebookseller.com/news/unbound...
Unbound authors will not receive unpaid royalty payments until new publisher Boundless 'is cash stable'
As founder John Mitchinson leaves, Unbound authors learn they will not receive historic royalty payments for sales of their books unless Boundless "survives and thrives".
www.thebookseller.com
May 31, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Just in case anyone's missed this shitshow, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING DIRECT FROM UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS. *Do* check on authors' own pages how best to get hold of their work.
DO NOT SUBMIT WORK TO UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS.
DO NOT SUBMIT WORK TO UNBOUND OR BOUNDLESS.
Reposted by Wes Viola
Indie bookstores are awesome! 👍❤️📚
May 31, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Indie bookstores are awesome! 👍❤️📚
I don't think it's a spoiler to say about #DoctorWho , though, that a lot of people in both cast and crew are at times making miraculous work of *really* ropey material... and at other times, not even their talents are able to plaster over the cracks.
May 31, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I don't think it's a spoiler to say about #DoctorWho , though, that a lot of people in both cast and crew are at times making miraculous work of *really* ropey material... and at other times, not even their talents are able to plaster over the cracks.
Broken Sleep Books (@brokensleepbooks.bsky.social) have a FLASH SALE on now until midnight tomorrow (Friday 31 May) offering 25% off many books on their website, including two anthologies I'm in, 'Masculinity' and 'Devastation Songs'
www.brokensleepbooks.com/books
www.brokensleepbooks.com/books
Broken Sleep Books | Current Releases
Broken Sleep Books are dedicated to works that transcend the page, and are more than just poets writing poetry. We believe the greatest pieces of writing exist outside of expectation, and are written ...
www.brokensleepbooks.com
May 30, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Broken Sleep Books (@brokensleepbooks.bsky.social) have a FLASH SALE on now until midnight tomorrow (Friday 31 May) offering 25% off many books on their website, including two anthologies I'm in, 'Masculinity' and 'Devastation Songs'
www.brokensleepbooks.com/books
www.brokensleepbooks.com/books
Reposted by Wes Viola
Nick Clegg says asking homeowners to willingly hand over their belongings would 'kill' the burglary industry.
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
May 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Nick Clegg says asking homeowners to willingly hand over their belongings would 'kill' the burglary industry.
Reposted by Wes Viola
You say this as if it was a bad thing.
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
May 26, 2025 at 3:16 PM
You say this as if it was a bad thing.
Reposted by Wes Viola
January 19, 2025 at 10:50 AM
My poem 'Horizon', which won the Silver Pen at the Bardic contest in Glastonbury last night.
More details: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
More details: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
May 20, 2025 at 7:21 AM
My poem 'Horizon', which won the Silver Pen at the Bardic contest in Glastonbury last night.
More details: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
More details: open.substack.com/pub/wesviola...
That rabbits, both male and female, have marsupial-style pouches.
I only realised my error when wondering aloud why the Easter bunny was always depicted carrying a basket when he could simply carry the eggs in his pouch.
I only realised my error when wondering aloud why the Easter bunny was always depicted carrying a basket when he could simply carry the eggs in his pouch.
Folks, get in here. We’re admitting all the dumb wrong shit we believed until we were way too old.
Fun fact: until I was appreciably into my 20s, I thought they were called oncologists because they were always “on call.”
May 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
That rabbits, both male and female, have marsupial-style pouches.
I only realised my error when wondering aloud why the Easter bunny was always depicted carrying a basket when he could simply carry the eggs in his pouch.
I only realised my error when wondering aloud why the Easter bunny was always depicted carrying a basket when he could simply carry the eggs in his pouch.
Today is St Dunstan's Day and that means the finals of the Bardic contest in Glastonbury. Local storytellers, poets and (not enough) songwriters compete to be this year's Bard of Ynys Witrin.
I try to be there almost every year since I joined the Gorsedh, even now I've moved away from town.
I try to be there almost every year since I joined the Gorsedh, even now I've moved away from town.
May 19, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Today is St Dunstan's Day and that means the finals of the Bardic contest in Glastonbury. Local storytellers, poets and (not enough) songwriters compete to be this year's Bard of Ynys Witrin.
I try to be there almost every year since I joined the Gorsedh, even now I've moved away from town.
I try to be there almost every year since I joined the Gorsedh, even now I've moved away from town.
Reposted by Wes Viola
Another remarkable piece of writing by the brilliant Andrew Hankinson. More wounded, stunted, stumpy men, shouting angrily at the North Eastern sky, to file alongside his unforgettable book-length study of Raoul Moat.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘It was as if someone had been murdered’: the felling of the Sycamore gap tree | The Observer
I set out to answer the question a whole nation has been asking: what made two men cut down the Sycamore Gap tree?
observer.co.uk
May 16, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Another remarkable piece of writing by the brilliant Andrew Hankinson. More wounded, stunted, stumpy men, shouting angrily at the North Eastern sky, to file alongside his unforgettable book-length study of Raoul Moat.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Wes Viola
Massive anti-genocide protest in London today, hundreds of thousands demand justice and an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Gaza. #3E #EndImpunity #freepalestine
May 17, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Massive anti-genocide protest in London today, hundreds of thousands demand justice and an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Gaza. #3E #EndImpunity #freepalestine
Welcome to a bunch of new followers overnight! I think you all came from @lozzawriting.bsky.social's writing community list (thank you Laura) - I'll try to honour that and post some useful things at least occasionally.
If you want to know more about me as a writer, linktr.ee/wesviola is the place.
If you want to know more about me as a writer, linktr.ee/wesviola is the place.
wesviola | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree
10th Bard of Ynys Witrin
linktr.ee
May 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Welcome to a bunch of new followers overnight! I think you all came from @lozzawriting.bsky.social's writing community list (thank you Laura) - I'll try to honour that and post some useful things at least occasionally.
If you want to know more about me as a writer, linktr.ee/wesviola is the place.
If you want to know more about me as a writer, linktr.ee/wesviola is the place.