Esther Lay

I feel the headline would write itself: “Cotswold vicar deported…”

Yep. Child benefit recipient here.

Esther Lay – Rust & Moth A Journal Of Poetry And The Arts

Delighted to have two poems in @rustandmoth.bsky.social this autumn - one of my favourite magazines. rustandmoth.com/artists/esth...

#TheCodex - Jen Feroze - The Broken Spine Jen Feroze lives by the sea in Essex with her husband and two small sleep thieves, who inspire a lot of her poetry. A former Foyle Young Poet, her work has

The bird book said magpie.
The window said rain.
The memory said jam jars and giant’s grief.

Jen Feroze turns softness into spellwork in #TheCodex.
➡️ thebrokenspine.co.uk...
@matthewmcsmith.bsky.social @jenferoze.bsky.social

There’s my husband! Somewhere in the bowels of Duncan…

HMS Duncan sails from Portsmouth this morning for sea trials and shakedown after 6-month maintenance period.

Via: PortsmouthProud / Steve Wenham

Di Slaney wins Write Out Loud’s ‘Echoes’ competition with ‘Dolly Parton’s wig’ - in memory of a ‘dear friend and inspiration’ | Write Out Loud Di Slaney wins Write Out Loud’s ‘Echoes’ competition with ‘Dolly Parton’s wig’ - in memory of a ‘dear friend and inspiration’

Delighted to have placed joint second with myself (!) with two poems in the Write Out Loud poetry competition, judged by @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social's wonderful editor Neil Astley. Read his remarks (and all the winning poems) here: www.writeoutloud.net/public/bloge...

First taste of the cover and colours of Ghost Stations, out in September from @cbeditions.bsky.social . Essays on trains, stations, places, not-quite-places, centres and perpheries, imaginary poets and real artists, memory and forgetting. Ghost signs and missing letters.

The Friday Poem on 16th May 2025 D.A. Prince reviews 'The Wrong Person to Ask' by Marjorie Lotfi (Bloodaxe, 2023)

The Friday Poem on 16th May 2025
open.substack.com/pub/thefrida...

Well this was a nice surprise. Turning to see my first born sitting on the shelf next to me while drafting her younger sibling.

If we hit our £5,000 goal, we’ll launch a poetry competition unlike any other—free to enter, big cash prize, real support. We’ve done it before with chapbooks & Reader’s Choice. Now, we need your help to go bigger. Donate today. #TheBrokenSpinePoetryAward 🔗 shorturl.at/G2mMo

Editing Poetry Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned poet, this session will give you practical tips and techniques to refine and edit your work.

If you haven't discovered @marjorielotfi.bsky.social yet, she is one of the best contemporary poets out there (Forward Prize winner 2024), and also a tremendous teacher. She's running an editing workshop on the 2nd of May - highly recommended. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/editing-po...

Thank you so much! It was great fun.

Tomorrow - Saturday!

A picture of Barbie from the Barbie movie with an ash cross on her forehead. The text reads 'do you guys ever think about dying?'

Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust,
even Barbie knows,
that Ash Wednesday's a must.

Tomorrow at St. Mark's; 7 a.m, noon, and 7 p.m. ⚓

Private Passions - Imtiaz Dharker - BBC Sounds Michael Berkeley's guest is the poet Imtiaz Dharker.

Looking forward to tuning in at 12:00 today #PrivatePassions @imtiazdharker.bsky.social + Michael Berkeley #illustration #poetry (currently available on BBC Sounds) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... 🎨🖌️📻

Only five days now until I interview the wonderful poet Imtiaz Dharker @imtiazdharker.bsky.social in Wootton Village Hall, just north of Oxford. 6.30pm, 8th of March. Get your tickets while there are still some left! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...

Floored — totally and utterly — that one of my poems has been submitted for consideration in the @forwardprizes.bsky.social 2025. Hurrah!

There are still tickets left for this incredible opportunity to hear the poet Imtiaz Dharker speak in Wootton by Woodstock. 6.30pm on the 8th of March, curry supper included! Book here: www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...

Can’t wait!

See you there!

This event with renowned poet Imtiaz Dharker is going to sell out fast. Get your tickets now — especially as there’s a deadline of 25 Feb (catering requires it; a curry dinner is included!) www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening... @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social @imtiazdharker.bsky.social

Stop saying ‘cringe’, start saying ‘gauche’.

I’m delighted to share that £5m of funding has been confirmed for the National Poetry Centre ✒️

When I learned that the funding for the Centre was under review, I began working with Simon Armitage & the Centre to lobby the Gov. to secure the funding.

#NationalPoetryCentre

Esther Lay Poet

I’m thrilled to have just found out I’ve won the East Riding Festival of Words Poetry Competition 2025 — the poem will be published in ebook form with others, and will also be available to read shortly at estherlay.com

My poem “Citizen” from The Wrong Person to Ask (Bloodaxe Books) sums up how I feel about being an Iranian-American-Scot just now ⬇️

This is going to be a brilliant poetry evening! I’m interviewing the wonderful @imtiazdharker.bsky.social on March 8th in Wootton by Woodstock. Get your tickets (which include dinner) here: www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...
6.30 talk
7.30 dinner
8.30 open-mic

A scratchy ink sketch for a New Yorker cover by Tom Gauld

A screenshot of a page of the New Yorker website with some information about the cover 'Winter Sun' by Tom Gauld

An ink drawing of a sad looking dog being walked in heavy rain.

1. Sketch | 2 Feature on the New Yorker website | 3. Closeup of my favourite character in the ink drawing.

A cover of the New Yorker magazine for February 10th 2025. The image is of a dark, rainy street scene. One figure shelters under an umbrella and another, wearing a large raincoat, walks a sad looking dog. A large window casts warm light onto the street. Inside a woman (wearing a bright yellow coat) and her dog, look at a summery painting of a figure basking under a hot sun.

I drew the cover for this week's @newyorker.com

A Dutch Still Life painting from 1627 Pieter Claesz: "Still Life with Peacock Pie". Various half-eaten food and silver vessels sit on top of a rumpled white tablecloth.

I am running a poetry workshop on ekphrastic poetry - writing inspired by visual art - on Tuesday the 11th of February at 11am in Wootton Church (OX20). If anyone from here would like to come along, please drop me a line!