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Mike O’Brien

@zoomburst.substack.com

1.2K followers 960 following 1K posts

Sixty odd years old. Running the Sixty Odd Press and a proud member of the Promote Indie Lit network zoomburst.substack.com sixtyoddpoets.substack.com promoteindielit.com

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 10h

I didn’t realise that penguins were emblematic Christmas card birds.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 23h

#HollieMcNish came to read #poetry at Rotherham Grimm and Co a few weeks back. See if you can spot me (and maybe yourself) in this video from Flux Spread the Word.

Spread the Word Poetry Project Montage - Flux Rotherham

YouTube video by FLUX Rotherham

youtu.be

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 1d

Charlotte Holm is a much published prizewinning poet and artist from South Yorkshire.

38. Charlotte Holm

Nature inspired poet/archaeologist

sixtyoddpoets.substack.com

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 1d

From this day on I shall endeavour to keep my purse properly plethoric.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 1d

It does help to clarify one's thoughts. I try and avoid being too much of a political poet, but sometimes it just has to be done.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 2d

I'm on the countdown to Saturday night in the basement at Ziggy Green, Mayfair London. (as everyone knows, Ziggy Green was Ziggy Stardust's real name.) #poetry #Bowie More info in Alt text. See you there?

Poster for Up North, Down South - an event where a bunch of yorkshire poets - myself included, will be reading at the colony room green, accompanied by music from Sister Chain and Brother John - and Clifford Slapper, of David Bowie piano fame. The whole event being in close proximity to where the album cover photo of The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was taken.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 3d

A piece about #JohnDonne and the amazing fact that when he wrote "the Flea" he was actually writing in an established and popular genre of #poetry - erotic flea poetry. In his day, fleas were regarded as saucy little devils, able to easily gain access to the most private parts of the human anatomy.

2.44 Are Fleas Erotic?

John Donne with a fabulous sixteenth century chat-up line

zoomburst.substack.com

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 3d

Come over to Finland this morning to enjoy the #poetry of Gerry Stewart, a temporarily relocated Scotswoman who is this week's inductee to the order of the #SixtyOddPoets

84. Gerry Stewart

Finland based poet with a manga loving otter son.

sixtyoddpoets.substack.com

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 3d

I got to read some #poetry and get interviewed on the radio! have a listen. I'm on at 1.12.50 and at 1.19 45. Jane Sharp was on too, at 43.20 and 49.40. We were both in an anthology which came out this week, along with @andrewbedellpoet.bsky.social, @rotherwrites.bsky.social and many more fab poets.

Upload with Hannah Sackville-Bryant - 04/10/2025 - BBC Sounds

Original comedy, podcasts, poetry, fiction and more on BBC Upload.

www.bbc.co.uk

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 4d

Brilliant!

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 4d

Ohh , I tried that. I got swamped with angry messages from the Mannequin Appreciation Society Facebook group. Some of those old girls are vicious!

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

Oooh, I didn’t notice that you had it on the Poetry Society website. Or that the image was from a video. Wow. I’m even more impressed now.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

No problem, probably because I keft you as part of a list rather than following. I have rectified that now - listed and followed.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

I'm sure that episode would have won a golden gun and badge award if they hadn't done that episode of Columbo with Mister Spock in it in the same year.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

The first two lines of this one permeate through the poem. a masterstroke. They flavour all the ingredients.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

It occurs to me that many people will have their own favourite episodes from the six seasons (and two movie length specials of Mannequin) Feel free to post your recommendations in the comments. I will seek them out for a binge night.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

There is some fine poetry in this week's #PoemsAbout challenge #Mannequin.I have loved the creepy horror tinged ones, and the conformist figures ones, and the cheap life ones - and the rest. I can't write anything to compare. So I have just torn a page out of an old Radio Times.

A page from an old Radio Times featuring synopses of six episodes of the detective series "Mannequin"

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

heartbreaking

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

haha - that made me grin. love the train of thought it provokes. Once it was argued that we couldn't so much as move a finger unless the action was willed by God. Now God has gone, and we have invented AI to take up the reins.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

this one is really clever - something to think about next time I am at a looke end whilst my wife is in the changing room.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 5d

spooky. I shall have to look up these characters that you read about.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 6d

Fab. Less is more! Well done last night!

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 6d

Love this. Great image and great metaphor.

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 6d

Ohh the humanity! Those polystyrene heads - and the parental warning! Ace!

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 6d

Really lovely how you have expressed all that body image and appearance angst into this tight little poem!

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