Walks fells and writes daft essays about real and imaginary worlds ☀️ 🍂 📚 limpetbay.substack.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3m272n763fs2oHappy World Poetry Day! Here’s a fave from Ada Limón02 Oct 2025 07:44 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3m272n763fs2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3lynj24qtxs2sWas tweaking my paper for this symposium just this morning. So excited to see what everyone has come up with. [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Sep 2025 14:48 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3lynj24qtxs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kkcivzgpxm26I’m in this new anthology from @fifthwheelpress.bsky.social! ‘Ginnel’ has been brewing since my first term in Oxford, and it’s finally out, *here* and *now*! So, head through the ginnel, enter the garden, and graze among these incredible poems - I dare y’! https://fifthwheelpress.com/secrets-in-the-garden31 Jan 2024 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kkcivzgpxm26https://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3ki7q5etyhw2hIn November, I started a new job at an educational publishers, where I was told about a new GCSE poetry anthology called Worlds and Lives. Naturally, I went to see what 15-16 year olds are being given as their introduction to the world of poetry. Here’s one by George Eliot.05 Jan 2024 07:09 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3ki7q5etyhw2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3ki4awyxyem26In October, I dipped into Smart Devices by Carol Rumens, one of many poetry books available using the National Poetry Library’s free ebook service (check it out!!) I especially enjoyed this poem, Jasper by Tony Conran.03 Jan 2024 21:59 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3ki4awyxyem26https://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khzumizy2f2pIn September, I followed Poets.org’s poem of the day. It’s a great source for a wide range of voices - including phenomenal pieces like Breakfast by Minnie Bruce Pratt.02 Jan 2024 23:13 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khzumizy2f2phttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khzu55wctw2oIn August, I changed it up again and read the Summer 2023 micro-chaps from Ghost City Press. So many highlights, but I especially loved Fast Dogs/Slow Rabbits by Kelli Simpson, and its haunting, otherworldly perspective on our world of creatures…02 Jan 2024 23:04 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khzu55wctw2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khug3inie62jIn July, I bought a cache of POETRY Magazine at half price (thanks Blackwells!) This issue of translations and adaptations of existing poems was my favourite; here’s Stephanie Burt’s Prayer to Artemis, which I read on a bus to the Isle of Iona.31 Dec 2023 19:09 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khug3inie62jhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khrnd6h6n526In June, up to my eyes in magic stones, cyborg theory and more-than-human ecologies, I turned to Being Human. This wondrous poem by Mark Doty has been in my head ever since.30 Dec 2023 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khrnd6h6n526https://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khqwt7qzz32mIn May, I dipped a toe into this wonderful book of sea poems (thanks @paxmb.bsky.social !) Here’s a poem by William Carlos Williams that really caught my imagination.30 Dec 2023 09:58 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khqwt7qzz32mhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khqwpwdtik2aIn April, I read the boldest and best of new poems (or at least what featured in the Forward Prize). Holly Hopkins’ ‘Telephone Girls’ grabbed me and did not let go.30 Dec 2023 09:57 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khqwpwdtik2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khkajq3jvg2tI haven’t stopped thinking about this incredible poem by Fiona Benson since I read it in March. The precision of the language, the violent technicality… wow27 Dec 2023 18:03 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khkajq3jvg2thttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khiasuph5s2pFebruary’s anthology was Poetry Unbound. Every poem here captured a unique and yet universal voice, and the accompanying essays guided me in developing my own language to describe the poems that move me. I can’t recommend enough.26 Dec 2023 23:03 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khiasuph5s2phttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3khf3a6dqsm2jThis year, I read a poetry anthology every month. So, here are my twelve favourite poems from twelve different anthologies over the twelve days of Christmas. Day One - January’s Ecco Anthology of International Poetry with Nina Cassian’s seductive, vital ‘Temptation’25 Dec 2023 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3khf3a6dqsm2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kdqeozy4722dDelighted to have three new #poems with Coporeal Lit - here’s a sneak peek of ‘Mother Beard’, click the link for more #poetry www.corporeallitmag.com/lukebateman09 Nov 2023 06:53 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kdqeozy4722dhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kd5vienix62y#NaNoWriMo Day 1: 512 words. A sure start!01 Nov 2023 22:33 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kd5vienix62yhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kczqieoiys2eThe double treat of a favourite poetry magazine opening a themed submission call: the prompt to write something to an intriguing theme, and the promise of great poems to read on that theme in a few months.31 Oct 2023 06:53 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kczqieoiys2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kcjffsdlwl2rFab read - if Victorian ghosts come from gas lamps, 21st century ghosts haunt from the metaverse? [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Oct 2023 18:52 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kcjffsdlwl2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kbmzdcaqxu2mWow, a whole year since @fifthwheelpress.bsky.social published ‘My Darling Swims in the Shallows.’ Still love this poem, and the goblin it’s about. https://fifthwheelpress.com/blogarchive/feature-luke-bateman13 Oct 2023 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kbmzdcaqxu2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kazv4mt5la2dEvery twenty pages of ‘Radical Wordsworth’, the narrative pauses for another of Coleridge’s whacky hijinks… Like the time he, a man who could not ride a horse, joined a cavalry under the name ‘Silas Tomkyn Cumberbatch’ Ahh #poets05 Oct 2023 21:25 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kazv4mt5la2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/lukebateman.bsky.social/post/3kaxa5su4un2pOh Frank. 🥺 #poetry04 Oct 2023 20:05 +0000at://did:plc:47y46haggtaffso4fmcnbfvw/app.bsky.feed.post/3kaxa5su4un2p