Gavin Lumsden

Poem of the week: New Republic by Michal Rubin The words of a Palestinian poet, killed in Gaza in 2023, are rekindled by an Israeli writer living in the US, in a dream where their words reach together for another future

Poem of the week: New Republic by Michal Rubin

The words of a Palestinian poet, killed in Gaza in 2023, are rekindled by an Israeli writer living in the US, in a dream where their words reach together for another futureOn 20 October 2023, Hiba Abu Nada, a Palestinian poet and novelist, was...

Well worth a catch-up @bbcsounds.bsky.social!

Spring/Fall Thank you to all who contributed to the 200+ works entered. This free submission window ran from 1 April to 31 May 2025Feature editor: Katherine Parsons Audio editor: Howard TimmsThe prompt and gui…

Really chuffed to have had a poem published @wildfirewords.bsky.social. ‘Libera me: a new voice speaks’ is about my recent preparation for a short solo in Faure’s Requiem by my local choir. It was a terrifying but ultimately rewarding experience! wildfire-words.com/spring-fall/...

The Best American Poetry of the 21st Century (So Far) The 25 most consequential collections from the past 25 years

www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv... This list of the ‘25 most consequential collections from the past 25 years’ published by The Atlantic last week is really useful. I’d not heard of half of them so that’s my Spring reading sorted!

I Swear This Poem Didn’t Make Me Cry George Oppen’s “From a Photograph” turns a wintry snapshot into a moving meditation on parenthood and the passage of time. Our critic A.O. Scott shows you what he loves about it.

We’ve been happy readers today of George Oppen’s From A Photograph which appeared @newyorktimes with a great commentary. Non subscribers can also find the poem on poetryfoundation.org 👏https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/24/books/george-oppen-from-a-photograph.html

I’m loving ‘Poem’ by D S Marriott just published in the Winter review @poetrysociety: ‘It was the final day of the sun and justice bled over the cities.’
poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/poem-3/

Fabulous reading!

TS Eliot Prize Readings: Live Stream | Southbank Centre

Got my ticket for the live stream of the TS Eliot prize readings 7pm tonight 😁https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/ts-eliot-prize-readings-live-stream/

Congrats @joebarca.bsky.social good to see this again!

Nearly 28 years after my father gave me Andrew Motion’s biography of John Keats for my birthday, I’ve read the thing! 😆To celebrate, I visited Keats House in Hampstead, north London. This great quote from the poet is on the stairs down to the cellar kitchen!

Thanks, loved the event & learning about ‘carnassial teeth’ & Cadralor poems! Fab readings from @helenlaycock.bsky.social @dizzylynn.bsky.social @liffyeliskelly.bsky.social @suewatling.bsky.social @paulwritespoems.bsky.social @coliverpoet.bsky.social @elcurwen.bsky.social @corinnaboard.bsky.social

‘Scotland has always been multilingual’: new Scottish makar Peter Mackay As new national poet, the Gaelic speaker is looking at all of the languages spoken in the country, to see ‘what we can learn between them’

Peter Mackay’s poems usually begin in Gaelic ‘after which he roughly translates them into English before the two diverge & grow apart – a process he describes as “necessarily dishonest translation”’ cos in nod to Emily Dickinson ‘“every language tells its truth”.
www.theguardian.com/books/2024/d...

Hi Ben, thanks for sharing. I don’t think the subject of your poem is too challenging. The questions that occur to me are: could it be more poetic? Does the framing of the speaker actually work? And what is the connection between Thanksgiving and Palestine? That might be what editors are wondering.

Loving the full-phat poetry vibe here! Getting away from the other place is a chance to refocus on all things wordy 😁

How poetic! Sounds like it was a fascinating experience.