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Bex Hainsworth

@poetbex.bsky.social

3K followers 2.8K following 300 posts

Teacher and Poet. Pamphlets - Walrussey (The Black Cat Poetry Press, 2023) and Circulaire (Written off Publishing, 2025). Circulaire available to purchase here: https://writtenoffpublishing.com/shop/p/circulaire-bex-hainsworth

writtenoffpublishing.com

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you, Tam!! 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 2d

I completely missed two poems of mine being published by the incomparable Columbia Journal in the spring.

You can read 'Mary Visits a Magdalene Laundry' and 'Diary of Shem's Wife' here:
www.columbiajournal.org/articles/two...

Two Poems By Bex Hainsworth — Columbia Journal

Nuns rattle keys in locks with cloven hands, clop down corridors, dark as wailing mouths. The long dormitories stink of exorcism, of mould crusting like old blood, of smoke from a bonfire of birth ...

www.columbiajournal.org

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you, Sam!! 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you, Paul!! 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 3d

I've been keeping this quiet, but I can now share that my poem 'Arboreal' won First Prize in the Whispering Wisdom Poetry Competition! 💙

Arboreal - by Bex Hainsworth
It was my first time taking the bus to school
and the 662 was late. Half-carried into the aisle,
I was a squat shrub, crowded by a canopy
of strangers. My sapling arms reached up
for the swinging vines of the grab handles,
but I stumbled as the bus rounded a corner.
Sunlight was swallowed by anoraks, blazers.
And then I felt the elderly woman beside me
shift the soft branch of her arm around my waist.
The sequins on her mossy cardigan shimmered,
both of us undergrowth, but her roots were deep
in the floor, her walking stick like a tree stake.
She anchored us, bud and trunk. It was the safety
I’ve been searching for, all my life.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 5d

It's October! 🍂

If you're looking for an autumnal read, Circulaire, my new pamphlet, features cosy cooking, bonfires, and benevolent hauntings 🎃

You can grab your copy from @writtenoffbooks.bsky.social here: tinyurl.com/4cw3e27r 🧡

Or drop a comment for a signed copy (£10 via PayPal) ☕️

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 6d

Happy National Poetry Day! 🎉

And the winners are @victoriaspires.bsky.social and Emily Tee over on Instagram! 🥳

Thank you to everyone who responded! 💛

If you missed out but would still like a signed copy, do drop me a comment! (£10 via PayPal, I ship internationally!) ☕️

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you, Allan! Your name has been added to the draw 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 8d

Thank you for sharing, Roger!! Your name has been added to the draw 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 8d

Delighted to hear that my poem 'Moeritherium' has received a Best of the Net nomination!

Published by the wonderful @whaleroadreview.bsky.social, it was inspired by this model in the Natural History Museum 💙

Moeritherium

After walking beneath blue whale bones
and following the loops of mammoth tusks,

I linger near an unsuspecting model:
the squat, shapely form of a moeritherium.

Indirect ancestor of elephants and sea cows,
all Eocene curves with soft, painted eyes.

The grey egg of her body is dwarfed
by stockier relatives, but she seems

to float in front of me, goddess of buoyancy,
the spirit of the semi-aquatic. I admire her

womb-shaped face, her stubby trunk, which
is touch-whitened from decades of petting,

but resist the urge to reach out. I am content
with our closeness, the shared beauty

of those without descendants.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 9d

Absolutely loved spending my weekend with I Am Not Light by @louloumach.bsky.social .

This collection is vivid, raw, and full of blistering seascapes that made my landlocked heart sing!

Grab your copy from @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social 🖤

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 10d

GIVEAWAY ALERT! 💛

Circulaire is a month old today and to celebrate I'm giving away two FREE copies! ☕️

Please like, share, and drop a comment below if you want to be entered into the draw - which will happen on Thursday, National Poetry Day! ✨

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Reposted by Bex Hainsworth

Louise Longson @louisepoetical.bsky.social · 17d

Join poets
@poetbex.bsky.social
@alicestainer.bsky.social
@thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social
Martin Kennedy Yates
@judemarr.bsky.social
@miriamo77.bsky.social
@marcellenewbold.bsky.social
@annpelletiert.bsky.social
7.00pm - 8.30pm UK time Free on Zoom www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/last-satur...

Last Saturday Poets: September

A poetry salon for the last Saturday of each month. Join some of the finest exponents of contemporary poetry reading their work.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 19d

So honoured to receive the coveted golden cherries!! 🍒 Thank you! 💛

Reposted by Bex Hainsworth

ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 19d

A beautiful poem from MistakenMagic @poetbex.bsky.social and from her new collection for our Pick of the Day. You can read Santarcangelo di Romagna here: www.abctales.com/user/mistake...

Cover of Circulaire, new collection from Bex Hainsworth.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 21d

Just found your Twitter message 🙈 Thank you for getting in touch!!

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 21d

Ah, amazing!! So bluesky has disabled my DMs because of UK verification laws, would I be able to find you on Twitter or Instagram so you can DM me your address? Alternatively, you could put your address in your PayPal note when you transfer the £10? 😊

Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 21d

Circulaire has made it to The Waitākere Ranges, New Zealand! 🇳🇿

If you live outside of the UK and would like a signed copy, please do drop a comment! (£10 via PayPal, I'll cover p&p) 💛☕️

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 21d

Thank you for reading, Angela!! 😊

Reposted by Bex Hainsworth

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 23d

Huge fan of Bex Hainsworth too. Will be getting this one. Walrussey was fantastic. 👇

Rhona Greene @rhonagreene.bsky.social · 23d

Also in today’s post!

Circulaire
by Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social

Huge fan of Bex since reading her wonderful collection Walrussey, so very excited to read this now!💫

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Reposted by Bex Hainsworth

Rhona Greene @rhonagreene.bsky.social · 23d

Also in today’s post!

Circulaire
by Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social

Huge fan of Bex since reading her wonderful collection Walrussey, so very excited to read this now!💫

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 23d

Thank you so much, Rachel 💙 😊 Really pleased you enjoyed Walrussey and I hope you enjoy Circulaire!

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 23d

My poem 'Shortbread' from my new pamphlet, Circulaire, for anyone who many need a reminder 💛

Circulaire, a collection of thirty-four poems about family, love, and being in a body, is available from Written Off Publishing here: tinyurl.com/4cw3e27r ☕️

Shortbread

I add four teaspoons of cocoa
to my grandmother’s shortbread recipe.

The dough becomes terracotta clay
which I mould into an urn,

curve into the shape of myself,
my floured hands sinking into its hips.

There is something primitive
about the way it folds like a bowl,

then flattens into a tablet,
fork strokes becoming language.

I slide the tray into the oven,
leave it twenty minutes to bake.

An anxiety-hollowed afternoon
is softened with this preparation.

For I am a body,
and I deserve something sweet.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 23d

Thank you so much for spreading the word, Rhona!! Really hope you enjoy 💛☕️

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 24d

The most wonderful review of Circulaire is now up at @abctales.bsky.social 💛 ☕
abctales.com/blog/insertp...

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