Proud to have my poetry included in the Broken Sleep Books Anthology 2025, which gathers together standout, risk-taking writing from the award-winning independent press.
Support vibrant, compelling contemporary literature and discover your new favourite writers now!
You can read a poem from The Mad Art of Doing Time, the book I released earlier this year, in this fabulous anthology. I am amongst such good company here, excited to be a part of this! Go buy it! (Also buy my other books from Broken Sleep whilst you're there)
It's an honour to be included in this anthology, alongside all the other fantastic writers published by @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social this year.
I'll be teaching this course on the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop in January next year, and cannot wait! Sign up here:
Our Spring Term is now live & we’ve got a whole host of brilliant tutors & poetry courses lined up, so be sure to book promptly to avoid disappointment. Our handy Quick Course Guide is linked in bio, where you’ll find everything you’ll need to know…
poetryschool.com/new-courses/... 🪻🌜
I'll be reading from my @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social collection 'The Point Is You Are Alive' alongside other @poetryschool.bsky.social MA graduates on Wednesday 26th October. Come along for 🍺 and 📚
🧱 Class, Work and the Politics of Poetry
Ruth Beddow asks who really gets to write — and how class, time, and labour shape the poetry we make. A powerful reflection on access, identity, and creativity in a working world.
🔗 poetryschool.com/the...
Brighten up your November with a prose poetry workshop! Please share....
bsky.app/profile/carr...
Thank you so much @sarahocwrites.bsky.social. And thank you for coming to the reading, it was the first I'd done in a while!💚
Tonight I heard Natalie read from this & it was wonderful. Really looking forward to reading the whole book ❤️🙌
Congratulations @natalie-whittaker.bsky.social and @marymulholland.bsky.social on the launch of your @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social books and @alicehiller.bsky.social for introducing us 🩷
Such a lovely evening, @alicehiller.bsky.social was wonderful, as were @marymulholland.bsky.social and @wendycaitlin.bsky.social
Thank you so much for coming along Sarah ❤️
Tomorrow evening I'll be reading in person from 'The Point Is You Are Alive' for the first time! (And quite possibly for the last time, as I have two small children and don’t get out much!) So don't miss out! @wendycaitlin.bsky.social @alicehiller.bsky.social
@marymulholland.bsky.social
If this book had a song, it would be Power by Little Mix.
Tuesday night @poetrysociety.org.uk with @natalie-whittaker.bsky.social @marymulholland.bsky.social hosted by @alicehiller.bsky.social. This book reminds me how important it is to write exactly what you want. @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social
She’s putting on her autumn coat and a string of pearls and reading @poetrysociety.org.uk cafe on October 28th. Come along to celebrate the new @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social books by @natalie-whittaker.bsky.social and @marymulholland.bsky.social hosted by @alicehiller.bsky.social.
I'll be reading from my @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social book, The Point Is You Are Alive, alongside @marymulholland.bsky.social Wendy Allen and @alicehiller.bsky.social, at The Poetry Cafe, Tuesday 28th October, 7pm-9pm!
Free tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/outrageous...
The earliest poem in this collection was written in 2012, the most recent in 2024... twelve years and two pamphlets later this book is in the world - The Point Is You Are Alive! @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social
Great to hear 😀. That's one of @kovesi.bsky.social 's favourites too 💙
Which poem was it?
We read and responded to prose poems by Anne Boyer, Margaret Atwood and @natalie-whittaker.bsky.social
❤️ 💙 💜
Lovely to hear that you're teaching my poems @julieirigaray.bsky.social !
The online launch of my new book 'The Point Is You Are Alive' is on Wednesday 30th April at 8pm.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/broken-sle...
It'd be lovely if you could join me online to celebrate the publication of my latest @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social publication, 'A hobby of mine'. 30 April from 8pm, and I'll be in some fine poetic company as you can see from the below. Link: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/broken-sle...
Thanks Mariah 💕
My first full collection, 'The Point Is You Are Alive' is now available to pre order from Broken Sleep Books @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social . Publication date is 30th April.
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
My favourite SE London poet (a brilliant working-class writer too) Natalie Whittaker, formerly published by Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre's #ignitionpress, publishes her first full collection with Broken Sleep Books soon, and we should all be excited:
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
A book cover with a light blue background. The title, The Point Is You Are Alive, is displayed at the top in bold, dark green serif font, with the author's name, Natalie Whittaker, in a smaller green serif font beneath it. In the centre, there is an aerial view of moss. At the bottom, the publisher's name, Broken Sleep Books, appears in dark green serif text. The design is minimalistic, with a natural and serene aesthetic.
some new flats look like Jenga blocks against the sky a man walks past looking at his phone not looking at his phone the bus to Bellingham rounds the corner a sign says This is a Public Space Protection Order Area Pick up after your dog Put your dog on a lead when instructed to do so by an authorised officer Max 6 dogs Do not walk more than 6 dogs dogs have been causing problems around here problems beyond imagining a woman I know stops and chats with me I tell her how busy I am so busy so tired she says I’m not surprised I don’t know how you do it all by which I think she means all the time I spend telling people how busy and tired I am a fun-size Snickers wrapper skids through full-size leaves a girl is sat outside a café in an orange faux fur jacket orange faux fur jacket leopard print skirt black DMs she looks so confident and real I envy people their south-facing balconies I wish my life contained more south-facing balconies where are the pigeons walking with such purpose
Not Again When I came home that night you were raving to the shipping forecast in the kitchen, moving with the grace of a broken puppet and wearing the hair of the dog; his brown fur. I said you bring me peace like an earthquake. You turned on the smashed-up tiles and said watch what happens when one person screams at night then screamed at the night. The whole city screamed back; echoes smacking around cars and lampposts. Only the shaved dog stayed silent. I knew in the morning the sparrows would drop eggshells like our thoughts all snappish and empty, and somewhere a fox was gargling acid and fishponds reflected the obvious stars.
PREORDER (30.04.2025):
The Point Is You Are Alive moves between intimate recollection and sharp social observation. Whittaker’s poetry inhabits the raw spaces between grief and persistence, presence and absence.
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
