Marjorie Lotfi
@marjorielotfi.bsky.social
1.2K followers 700 following 140 posts
Writer (The Wrong Person to Ask/ Bloodaxe Books, Forward Prize, James Berry Award, Saltire Prize Shortlist) Co-Founder/Director Open Book, Mentor, writing retreats at Galloway House Estate
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marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Wednesday mornings, 30-40 writers gather online (cameras off, cameras on, always with coffee) for Marjorie’s Table. We look briefly at craft then write - poetry or prose or essay or memoir - to 3 prompts. Join us for £8 per month via Marjorie’s Table on Substack: substack.com/@marjorielot...
Marjorie Lotfi | Substack
Facilitator of Marjorie's Table Weekly Workshops, Writer (Forward Prize Best First Collection 2024, PBS Special Commendation - The Wrong Person to Ask, Bloodaxe Books), Mentoring & Retreats Galloway H...
substack.com
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
The image doesn’t match the content @thetimes.com
thetimes.com
Tough new conditions to be imposed on migrants who want to settle in the UK will not apply to more than a million people who arrived in the UK under the post-Brexit immigration surge
Labour’s tough new rules will not apply to migrants already in UK
www.thetimes.com
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
❤️❤️❤️
whatisaletter.bsky.social
I wrote a rather long post on FB about taking part in poetry writing classes, or rather a lack of money and time to do so regularly, and I recommended two courses I've found so far that help with all these issues in their own ways. Featuring @marjorielotfi.bsky.social and @helenboden.bsky.social.
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Only a handful of places left on our 2026 retreats at Galloway House Estate - if you’re tempted, now’s the time to snap one up! More information here: www.gallowayhouseestate.org/copy-of-retr...
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
In this complicated time for immigrants, I’m reading poems about Iran at the Wigtown Bool Festival on Wednesday 1 October at 4:30pm. I’d LOVE to see you there! tickets.wigtownbookfestival.com/sales/events...
Marjorie Lotfi, Iran and Other Stories
tickets.wigtownbookfestival.com
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
I remember the horror on a friend’s face when I admitted (30 years ago, when we were all broke) that I couldn’t face peeling the little ones in the middle and just threw them in the bin!
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Beautiful.
toddedillard.bsky.social
my issue of Threepenny is here! here’s my poem “Present Tense,” I would love for you to give it a read!

“I know this so loudly I don’t
hear, at first, my father’s silence.”
Present Tense
by Todd Dillard

My father’s telling me about his dog,
how it fell into a well
when they were walking down a wooded path.
His dog ran across some rotted planks,
the planks splintered, “And whoosh!”
my father says. “No more dog.”
I look at the clock and remind my father it’s three A.M.
“I’m not finished,” he says.
He tells me about the rope he bought, the bucket,
how he knotted the rope to the bucket, lowered it down,
and yelled for the dog to get in.
“But all I pulled up was more barking.”
“Dad,” I say. “This never happened.”
He says he can’t remember 
how long he tried to get the dog 
to shimmy into the bucket.
Just that at some point
when the sky turned tawny—“Dad—“
as a pitcher of sweet tea—“Dad—“
he decided to give up.
“Dad,” I say. “It’s late.
I’m tired. And you’re dead.”
“Dammit, son,” my father says. “Let me finish!”
My father tells me about filling the bucket with dirt 
and pouring the dirt into the well.
And I know what he’s getting at, I know
he’s going to tell me bucket by bucket
he filled the well and 
the dog jumped out. He’s going to say
something about how the dog
led him home through the dark.
I know this so loudly I don’t
hear, at first, my father’s silence.
“Dad?” I say. “Dad, are you there?”
I keep lowering the bucket
but all I ever pull up are leaves.
Red leaves. Lately, some gold.
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Do do! I’m feeling a Houdini poem coming on myself…
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Looked at this cracker by @niallpoetry.bsky.social at Marjorie’s Table today - stunning. It’s here, with a couple of others: www.badlilies.uk/niall-campbell
Reposted by Marjorie Lotfi
briancutts.bsky.social
The week after the Brexit vote, a patient said goodbye to a local doctor (born in UK to immigrant parents 50 years before) as they told him he'd have to 'go back home' now.
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Offended by a poem? Sounds like you’re doing good work if you’ve hit a nerve. Hope you’re okay.
Reposted by Marjorie Lotfi
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Thank you for your post! So kind. See you on Monday :)
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Today’s Marjorie’s Table session looked at the work of Leo Boix. The recording of the workshop is open to all here: open.substack.com/pub/marjorie... - enjoy!
marjorielotfi.bsky.social
Help me spread the word about these Marjorie's Table writing workshops - ten midweek workshops 1-12th September for £20.

And as usual, there's a free bursary place for anyone who needs one, no questions asked, no explanation needed. DM me for the code to use at checkout. shorturl.at/AxqWc
Marjorie's Table in Sept - Ten Workshops to Revive Your Writing Practice
Rediscover your writing practice with Marjorie's Table in September - ten midweek 7:30-8am workshops, with recordings, Sept 1-13
www.eventbrite.co.uk
Reposted by Marjorie Lotfi
bloodaxebooks.bsky.social
August news: shorturl.at/8SafG
#MattHoward wins @asleuki.bsky.social Prize; #KatrinaPorteous is #LaurelPrize Finalist; #KrisJohnson & @marjorielotfi.bsky.social on #MichaelMurphyPrize Longlist; @theguardian.com review for #VersusVersus; #GillianAllnutt made @rsliterature.bsky.social Fellow; & more!
Reposted by Marjorie Lotfi
bloodaxebooks.bsky.social
Congratulations to #KrisJohnson and @marjorielotfi.bsky.social, whose debut collections are both longlisted for the 2025 #MichaelMurphyMemorialPoetryPrize!
The Prize is awarded biennially for a distinctive first volume of poetry in English.

www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article...