Harriet Truscott

He and the earth he made were never closer, Divinity and dust come face to face. We flinch back from his via dolorosa, He sets his face like flint and takes our place, Good Friday: the first 12 Stations of the Cross malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/goo…

@tom_mckinney @BBCRadio3 Morning! Sounds like a lovely programme scheduled for the morning.

@tom_mckinney @BBCRadio3 Good morning to Tom and the willow warblers.

I am VERY sceptical that Gertrude Stein said “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping” as the @AshmoleanMuseum exhibition claims. She wrote a lot about money and consumerism - but this…? Can anyone prove me wrong?

@byvjrene Congratulations, V!

Deeply proud to have my essay on phenomenology and queer feeling in Swinburne published here among such brilliant work. Thank you, FORUM 💖💜💙

The new issue of #14magazine is now available at just £7 incl. UK p&p. Featuring brand new work by: Details of how to purchase your copy: richardskinner.weebly.com/14-magazine

@ArcCreativeArts Congratulations on the shortlisting Martin!

@ZoeBrigley @poetrywales @HMTruscott Hi Zoe. I hope all is okay with you. I really don't envy your task of reading & selecting for each issue. Btw, I just found out I'm on a shortlist of 6 for a chapbook with The Broken Spine, this is good news having been so close before. Hoping to be successful this time. 😬

I have just sent four gloriously deranged poems off to @zoebrigley at @poetrywales for their Innovative Poetry call. Hooray for fun in poetry!

Entire Seeley Library to myself as I read about Puritan theology…

Poems on the Underground Poem of the Week August 24th Everything Changes by Cicely Herbert poemsontheunderground.org/everything-cha…

I searched Abe Books for “First Steps in Letterpress: a beginner’s guide.” Abe Books suggested “Micropenis.”

‘When it’s sunny, we get the barbecue out’: urban gardeners transform foul alleys into verdant havens. An uplifting and inspiring story for difficult times. theguardian.com/environment/ar…

@badbadpoet I’m just waiting for the taxman to enquire.

@HMTruscott Love your Twitter bio, btw 😆

The problem with conventional poetry readings is that most poetry doesn’t lend itself to being read aloud and is very difficult to follow.

@badbadpoet That sounds excellent and joyful but also a genuine response to the nature of poems as a series of words heard in the air.

@HMTruscott I tend nowadays not to read my poems at all, but instead to perform pieces that may or may not be scripted, with an emphasis on vocal effects, physicality and silliness. Is it poetry? Idk. Does it matter? That’s for others to decide.

@badbadpoet I always select different poems to read aloud than I would if I were sharing them solely on the page. As you say, it needs to be more immediate & I think, much easier to comprehend as a whole. I’ve heard excellent page poems read & been left with a series of disconnected images.

@HMTruscott Interesting! My view is that live poetry should offer something distinct from the polished page; something looser, more immediate.

@badbadpoet And I once heard J H Prynne give an amazing reading where he slowly repeated certain key words and phrases of the poem. One of my most memorable experiences from university.

@badbadpoet I heard Will Harris say that he felt each poem should be read at least twice at a reading, and then he did that for some of his poems. I felt it worked well, though I’ve not done it myself since.

My ex-boss Laura James is looking for new employment. She will take tech organisations that don’t work and make them work. Also she will listen to would-be poets moan and give them helpful advice.

@RoisinCNorton A friend of mine said to me yesterday when I complained about needing to write 30 poems in 2 months, “It’s a nuisance trying to write well, isn’t it?”

Me, struggling to write a verse novel, met a friend struggling to edit a creative non-fiction work. We were both in a cafe which was maybe where we were going wrong.