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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 14h

Next week’s #poetry challenge on TopTweetTuesday on Twitter

Write a poem that’s aware of the act of creating a poem, the choices of the poet, authorial bias & explores some of the contrived aspects of writing.

Imagistic, tight writing, 80 words max.

@matthewmcsmith.bsky.social back hosting!

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 16h

‘Have we not always knelt in this midnight temple, sought that silver elixir’

Saraswati Nagpal’s ‘Night’s Lapis Dome’ from ‘Drench Me in Silver’

tinyurl.com/yck4frvx

@saraswatinagpal.bsky.social

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 1d

Join us this Sunday 12th Oct for ‘Crafting Your Year in Poetry’ where we look at how to improve our writing routines, submission & publication rate, develop our profile and work on our own 12 month writing plans

eventbrite.co.uk/e/crafting-your-year-in-poetry-tickets-1627962482609?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Matthew M C Smith @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social · 5d

New poem 💀

Avoid the abstract they said.
Avoid abstract nouns. Ground your poetry in the ordinary, the everyday, they said.

To hell with such banal limitations.

TopTweetTuesday ‘mystical’
prompt, hosted by @saraswatinagpal.bsky.social on Twitter

#poetry #poetrylovers✒️ #poetrycommunity

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Chris Campbell @citizen-chris.bsky.social · 4d

Very kind words for ‘Why I Wear My Past to Work’ from @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social 🙏🙏

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 5d

You post your imagistic poem following the brief and include @TopTweetTuesday and the host’s Twitter handle - you like and comment on others and build up your following

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 5d

Getting nowhere in poetry fast? Need a little more focus in your work as a poet? Need to boost your profile? This is the workshop for you. Gamechanger!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crafting-your-year-in-poetry-tickets-1627962482609?aff=oddtdtcreator

#poetry #writing #WritingCommunity

Crafting Your Year in Poetry

This 2.5 hr workshop will help you plan your 12 next months on your poetic journey from your reading, writing time, submissions & networking

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 6d

Getting ready to host! 🎙️ 🌍

The book launch on Zoom of stellar writer @saraswatinagpal.bsky.social 🇮🇳 with @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social - co-hosts @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social and Saraswati are very excited! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

#poetry #books #readers #writers

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 6d

LAST MINUTE TICKETS! 🎫 3pm UK time today! @saraswatinagpal.bsky.social and guests!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Phil Hyde @gphydeauthor.bsky.social · 6d

Whoa, I didn't see this coming! Awesome to be in the company of these writers.

Massive thanks to @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social and EIC MatthewMCSmith.bsky.social

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Our Black Bough #bestofthenet nominations for this year! Congratulations to

@gphydeauthor.bsky.social
Laurie Koensgen
@helenlaycock.bsky.social
@lenaozge.bsky.social
@ajpati.bsky.social
@merrildsmith.bsky.social

🍾🥂

#poetry #writing #poetsofbluesky

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Vikki C. @vikkicwrites.bsky.social · 7d

"...the poet evokes the sacred through place and seasonal migrations that mark the fluid nature of identity, juxtaposed with the duties and footholds of tradition."

My review of the luminous 'Drench Me in Silver' by @saraswatinagpal.bsky.social (@blackboughpoetry.bsky.social).

#poetry #reviews

Saraswati Nagpal's 'Drench Me in Silver' (Black Bough Poetry, 2025)

A review of Drench Me in Silver by Saraswati Nagpal (Black Bough Poetry, 2025)

By Vikki C.

Saraswati Nagpal’s Drench Me in Silver (Black Bough Poetry, 2025) demonstrates through precise, breathtaking language, that rapture resides in tender reverence for the rich fabric of heritage and familial legacy. A vivid and moving tribute to the complex nuances of culture and codex that influence and transcend the female experience, the poet evokes the sacred through place and seasonal migrations that mark the fluid nature of identity, juxtaposed with the duties and footholds of tradition.

Nagpal conjures the fragrance and soul-song of a multitextured terrain where a singular voice cascades into an intergenerational chorale in honour of the divine feminine. From nascent wellspring to oneiric cameos of kinship, domesticities and ritual, we are held in mutual adoration for the transformative beauty of the natural world and the devotion of mythical female figures: “These women abound, adorned in ichor, blood and blossoms.” Meditations where for Nagpal, time is both vignette and luminous ancient light: “Year’s lived grow distant, city lights fading / to tarnished tinsel. Youth’s amber demands / have been savoured and sold.”

I was enlightened by her elegant vernacular of loss—a liminality that rains, pools, evaporates in all its forms— yet, what endures, elides cinematically from both origin and otherness: “In a river, you pirouette at last: / a wild bird in love with the wind.” Distilling grace, intellect, defiance and empathy, this is poetry that incarnates the ardent love of forebearers with the alchemy of the sublime self, both in the moment, and the ages to come..

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 7d

Welsh #poetry presses. Make sure you consider nominating your writers for prizes such as @pushcartprize.bsky.social #laurelprize @forwardprizes.bsky.social and #bestofthenet etc. there’s not many presses here and nominations can be thin on the ground! Really boosts the writers
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

a woman wearing a red shirt that says cymru wales

ALT: a woman wearing a red shirt that says cymru wales

media.tenor.com

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 7d

Next week on TopTweetTuesday on Twitter - our #poetry challenge is…

70 words max of atmospheric, inventive poetry on the theme of ‘mystical’. Avoid rhyme and cliche!

Our host is ‘Drench Me In Silver’ author @saraswatinagpal.bsky.social - you can get her mystical book at

tinyurl.com/yck4frvx

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Özge Lena @lenaozge.bsky.social · 8d

Honoured to be nominated for #bestofthenet by @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social 💙

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Our Black Bough #bestofthenet nominations for this year! Congratulations to

@gphydeauthor.bsky.social
Laurie Koensgen
@helenlaycock.bsky.social
@lenaozge.bsky.social
@ajpati.bsky.social
@merrildsmith.bsky.social

🍾🥂

#poetry #writing #poetsofbluesky

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Merril D. Smith @merrildsmith.bsky.social · 8d

Congratulations to all! I'm so honored (and surprised).

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Our Black Bough #bestofthenet nominations for this year! Congratulations to

@gphydeauthor.bsky.social
Laurie Koensgen
@helenlaycock.bsky.social
@lenaozge.bsky.social
@ajpati.bsky.social
@merrildsmith.bsky.social

🍾🥂

#poetry #writing #poetsofbluesky

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Helen Laycock @helenlaycock.bsky.social · 8d

Such a wonderful surprise! 🥰

@blackboughpoetry.bsky.social is the best!!

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Our Black Bough #bestofthenet nominations for this year! Congratulations to

@gphydeauthor.bsky.social
Laurie Koensgen
@helenlaycock.bsky.social
@lenaozge.bsky.social
@ajpati.bsky.social
@merrildsmith.bsky.social

🍾🥂

#poetry #writing #poetsofbluesky

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Our Black Bough #bestofthenet nominations for this year! Congratulations to

@gphydeauthor.bsky.social
Laurie Koensgen
@helenlaycock.bsky.social
@lenaozge.bsky.social
@ajpati.bsky.social
@merrildsmith.bsky.social

🍾🥂

#poetry #writing #poetsofbluesky

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

More #bestofthenet nominations announced tonight!

#poetry @sundresspub.bsky.social #writingcommunity #poetic #poetsofbluesky

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Two Black Bough editions to get out before Christmas.

Then one anthology in April.

#poetry #writing #poetic #readers #writingcommunity #poetsofbluesky

a person is dancing in a hallway with a red carpet

ALT: a person is dancing in a hallway with a red carpet

media.tenor.com

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Sign up NOW for the launch to end all launches!

@saraswatinagpal.bsky.social ’s ‘launch of Drench Me in Silver’ is on Zoom at 3pm (UK time) THIS Sunday with amazing poetic guests from around the world! 🎙️ 🌎

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 8d

Poets! Our writing plan workshop is back on Sunday 12th October. Plan your next 12 months of writing to build your profile, publication track record & opportunities ✒️💻 🌍

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crafting-y...

#writing #poetry

Crafting Your Year in Poetry

This 2.5 hr workshop will help you plan your 12 next months on your poetic journey from your reading, writing time, submissions & networking

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Matthew M C Smith @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social · 9d

For #nationalpoetryday ‘Autumn Uprising’ - on the subject of #play - this year’s theme, published in @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social 🐻 🧍‍♀️ 🐝 🤠 🍂
Christmas-Winter 4

#toystory #wreckitralph #wreckitralph2 #writing #childhood #autumn

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

RobertFredeKenter @rfredekenter.bsky.social · 10d

Honored for a BOTN nomination (& for a poem dear to me).Ty @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social for opportunity to be Silver Branches feature (poems & images) lovingly curated @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social & now this Unexpected & delighted. 💐 To other nominees, all formidable incl. @vikkicwrites.bsky.social

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 11d

Our #SilverBranch project 'Best of the Net' nom's this year. Special mention for our posthumous award for Ivor Daniel.🕊️

Julian Cason @hool415.bsky.social
Vikki C @vikkicwrites.bsky.social
@ivordaniel.bsky.social
@rfredekenter.bsky.social
@saraswatinagpal.bsky.social
@markantonyowen.com

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Reposted by Black Bough Poetry

Vikki C. @vikkicwrites.bsky.social · 10d

Thank you @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social and @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social for nominating 'Philosophy Fragment' for Best of the Net. Such great company too. Congratulations to all the nominees! ❤️

#poetrycommunity #BOTN

Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 11d

Our #SilverBranch project 'Best of the Net' nom's this year. Special mention for our posthumous award for Ivor Daniel.🕊️

Julian Cason @hool415.bsky.social
Vikki C @vikkicwrites.bsky.social
@ivordaniel.bsky.social
@rfredekenter.bsky.social
@saraswatinagpal.bsky.social
@markantonyowen.com

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Black Bough Poetry @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social · 11d

Mark Antony Owen's moving poem 'Keep Counting' is nominated from the #SilverBranch project for 'The Best of the Net'.

Full feature: www.blackboughpoetry.com/mark-antony-owen-christmas-24

@markantonyowen.com

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