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Matthew Francis

@mfrancispoet.bsky.social

1.2K followers 190 following 94 posts

Poet, novelist and professor emeritus in creative writing at Aberystwyth University. Latest novel, Nocturne with Gaslamps out now from Neem Tree Press.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · 23h

Thanks! It's in Dragons.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · 1d

An old poem of mine that has been having a bit of a moment on Facebook.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · 4d

My new book, The Green Month, will be launched at Waterstones, Aberystwyth, on Thurs 23 October at 7pm. Matthew Jarvis and Dafydd Johnston will be joining me to talk about the great Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, and I'll be reading from my adaptations of his work.

www.waterstones.com/events/matth...

Matthew Francis launches The Green Month | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones

Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about Matthew Francis launches The Green Month today.

www.waterstones.com

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · 9d

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · 18d

I'm tired of the film cliche whereby characters greet each other by just saying a name. It's a principle of writing dialogue that you should leave out empty formulae like "Hallo", "How are you?" but we need to know the names, so "Hi Joan, how are you?" becomes "Joan." But it sounds so artificial.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Sep 5

I had a theory about Mahler at one time that, having realised that the ending is always the best bit of a symphony, he decided to write symphonies consisting entirely of endings.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Aug 28

I know, I did that a few years ago. This year I'm following Prue Leith's tip: cook the peeled and cored apples in a microwave and freeze to use later.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Aug 27

Glut.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Aug 16

My contribution to next year's @faberbooks.bsky.social Poetry Diary, from my forthcoming collection The Green Month.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Aug 12

Shooting Star

Magnesium streak running from nowhere to nowhere
spat out of a corner of the night sky
to end in a mute fizzle –

a shy firework, scuttling
across the dark when

no one’s looking.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Aug 2

Today I lost patience with Word's tortuous logic and googled "how do I get pictures to go where I want them?" The answer was bizarre, but it worked: "Select the Behind Text option from Layout". So that's solved, even if I have no idea why.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Jun 22

I'm unable to read more than a few stanzas of Spenser without falling asleep. Thought this was just an undergraduate phase, but a few years ago I was sitting in the front row at a seminar on Elizabethan pastoral poetry, and couldn't keep my eyes open. Very embarrassing.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Jun 9

Just back from a wonderful cruise up the Norwegian coast.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 30

New novel by my former student Stefano Teatini, his first in English.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 13

Let's face it - the scientists have just reinvented T.S. Eliot.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 11

Wonderul poem!

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 6

Diolch yn fawr!

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 6

October.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 6

The cover of my forthcoming #poetry collection. I am delighted with it. Brilliant work by the @faberbooks.bsky.social designers.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 4

Someone on the radio today referred to President Pump. I'd been thinking it's about time we declared a moratorium on that man's name, and his photograph, too. If in future all White House decisions were publicly ascribed to President Musk, that might have the bonus of causing a sacking.

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Mar 2

My shortest poem:

EMPIRE

It is remote here.
Send marmalade.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Feb 16

From a forged New Testament text: Jesus tell his disciples about the place where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 'But, Rabbi,' one asks, 'what will happen to those who have no teeth?' 'O ye of little faith,' Jesus replies, 'for those who have no teeth, teeth will be provided.'

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Feb 10

Resemblance to a well-known modernist poem not a coincidence, I suspect!

Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Feb 10

You've given me a task with which to grapple.

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Matthew Francis @mfrancispoet.bsky.social · Feb 10

Just written a stanza in which I rhymed "orange" twice! Had to tell someone. #poetry

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