Andy Williamson

Excited that my new #poetry collection, 'Through salt-heavy seas' is out! This book marks a milestone for me, so I'm delighted to see it in print! DM me if you'd like to review it! Get it here: www.lulu.com/shop/andrew-... #writingcommunity #poems #scottishpoetry #PublishingScotland #booksy

#PoemsAbout #Hollow is live. Find the empty space and make it speak. Post from today through Thursday. Tag #PoemsAbout. Use Alt Text. #TakeRisks #EndOnAnImage #AvoidCliché Read 3+. Repost. Reply.

Been a busy few weeks so pleased to have found the time to write something new for #poemsabout #hollow. 'Mo chraobhan' (the trees) is Gàidhlig but I was thinking of the old Welsh saying 'to return to my trees' (dod yn ol at fy nghoed)... @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry #poetrycommunity

A big (double) rainbow on last night's dog walk. The dog was not particularly impressed but I stopped to take a picture!

Pew tested AI synthetic surveys against actual survey data. Conclusion: “This experiment taught us that, at this time, AI models are not an adequate replacement for traditional polling on topics of broad public importance.” This is an all time bad idea. No need to hedge with “at this time.”

Good morning lovely #poets, sharing something new for #PoemsAbout #Rot this week. 'Glas' can mean grey (Gaelic), green (Irish, sometimes Gaelic), blue (Welsh, Breton) or even paler/silvery shades! Colour as a social construct!

Next up: #Rot. Flowers rot. Houses rot. Governments rot. Love can rot beautifully if you leave it somewhere warm enough. New theme begins Friday. Don’t post early. Use Alt Text. Tag #PoemsAbout. Read. Repost. Reply.

Happy #PoemsAbout folks, here's my quick contribution to #DeadLetters - will check back later to read others! Thanks @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry #poetrycommunity

Good morning everyone, still not finding time to write much this week but did manage this draft poem for #poemsabout #strays. Will pop back later to read others! #poetry #poetrycommunity

Tomorrow: #PoemsAbout #Strays. Who gets taken home? Who gets left outside? Who learnt they were better off there? Don’t post before Friday. Tag #PoemsAbout. Use Alt Text.

Crypto billionaires must be stopped from undermining democracy. This is more than that. Politicians are bought by corporations and the super rich. Normal people can't compete in the auction. Must ban all political donations. Let parties be funded by modest membership fees and public money.

Thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk for this week's #PoemsAbout #FaultLines, here's something short and sweet... will check in on others later! #poetry

Away again this week so won’t manage this rather good prompt…

Finishing the final changes to a 50,000 manuscript before it heads to the editor and I head for a plane - the perfect time to share this photo... He's a forest bug (a type of shield bug)... he lives in the forest and looks like he has a shield on his back. What's not to love?

Delighted to be part of this!

The previous anthology was brilliant and this promises to be too with @paulwritespoems.bsky.social and @leiabutler.bsky.social as editors!

Hey Jen @jenthorne.bsky.social, thanks for the excellent #PromptCombo #Morning; had a few false starts on this one, so here goes! #poetry #poetrycommunity

What useless thing have you remembered for twenty years? On 20 September, The Broken Spine presents The Poetry of Cultural Debris, an online writing workshop exploring pop culture, memory & the ordinary things we can’t quite forget. Come make poems from the junk. #PoemsAbout shorturl.at/NTneI

Joint third place on #Fragmentsfriday @andywilliamson.com and @pollyoliverwales.bsky.social

Sharing a wee #poem for #PoemsAbout #EndOfSummer (which ironically has only just started up here!) - thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk & @thebrokenspine.co.uk and everyone else for the fantastic poems! #poetry #poetrycommunity

Tha làn-ghealach an Lùnastail ag èirigh thairis air Linne Shlèite…

Taken me a day to come up with something for #PromptCombo #era (and it's still a bit tenuous 😳). Thanks @rfsmith.bsky.social for the challenge! #poems #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity

Morning all, here's a #poem for #PoemsAbout #DeepCuts many thanks to always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk / @thebrokenspine.co.uk for the prompt! #poetrycommunity

Here's a random animal picture of a Madagascan hissing cockroach I took the other day. It's a marvelous creature, grows up to 7.5cm long and (as the name suggests) it hisses (loudly). A handsome chap, don't you think?

'How Place-Based Policy Could Counter Populist Discontent' Our latest essay on place and discontent is out today in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social Free to read ➡️ doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Thankyou to @janpsolivagant.bsky.social for last week's excellent #PromptCombo My theme this week is #12Lines. The rules are below:

Back to #PromptCombo after some time away and this wonderful prompt from @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social - #12Lines! Here's my offering, prompted by a chance encounter with a thylacine* last week... (*other animals made extinct by humans are available) #poetry #poetrycommunity

Good morning everyone, still not much writing time but always good to write something about trains, so here's a wee draft for #PoemsAbout #LastTrain. Thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk as always! #poem #poetrycommunity

And just to say brilliant readings tonight from #poetrycommunity friends @johnadlam.bsky.social @leiabutler.bsky.social @bethbpoet.bsky.social @merrildsmith.bsky.social @palimpsest22.bsky.social @markantonyowen.com @zentinl.bsky.social @andywilliamson.com @jahshabby.bsky.social

Was surprised to see this included Scotland - the calendar interface is clunky with multiple calendars but otherwise very clever!

Had a bit of fun with #PoemsAbout #BadHabits, not my usual stye at all! With thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk / @thebrokenspine.co.uk! #poems #poetry #writingcommunity

#PoemsAbout #ExitWounds starts Friday. A slammed door. An empty chair. A scar. A city after the crowd has gone. We favour vivid imagery over explanation. Draft now. Use Alt Text.

A bit early I know, but I'm travelling tomorrow and been rubbish at posting poems lately 😀 Here's a wee contribution for #PoemsAbout #ExitWounds I wrote in the tiny spaces of the week. Hope you like it and thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk! #poems #poetry #writingcommunity

Apologies for the radio silence on here - no #poems, no posts! Been busy with start of school holidays and visitors. The weather this week in #Skye is magical. It wasn't last week but that was good for a moody sea and sky pic on a deserted Skye beach (I'm not telling you where!)

My #poem for #PromptCombo #Bestiary this week; Each-usige, a kelpie or waterhorse. Not a friend of any young girl by the side of the loch... Thanks @janpsolivagant.bsky.social ant.bsky.social for a challenging theme! #poetrycommunity #poetry

Not sure we have motels, but we do have some well dodgy Travelodges! Happy #PoemsAbout day everyone. Can't wait to read the different takes on #CheapMotels #poetry #poetrycommunity

Good morning! I wasn't going to write to today's #PoemsAbout #CheapMotels, but then this memory came to me. Thank you to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk I'll be back in a bit to read.

🚨 LAST DAY TO APPLY 🚨 More than 500 people have now applied for a ticket for the first ever @policycamp.bsky.social, taking place at UCL on Thursday 23 July Applications close TONIGHT at 11.59pm - the ballot takes place over the weekend Last chance to apply for a ticket: policycamp.org.uk

#PoemsAbout #CheapMotels is live. Post through Thursday. We favour image-driven poems, emotional honesty, working-class grit, sharp endings, and work that avoids cliché. #TakeRisks #EndOnAnImage. Read 3+, repost, reply. Use Alt Text.

Good morning everyone, here's my offering for #PoemsAbout #CheapMotels. Thanks as ever to @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk for the prompt! Will duck back later to read everyone else's #poems! #poetry #writingcommunity

Here's a very quick something for #promptcombo #monument. Such a great first prompt, @jenthorne.bsky.social! Not had much time for writing (or socmed!) the last few weeks but reading about native tree seed collection (we have some of them planted here) and thought it was perfect for the prompt!

Some joy in a difficult world: ‘Literally growing the future’: volunteers help save Scottish rainforest by collecting 11m seeds Teams painstakingly combed endangered Atlantic habitat over several years, helping to grow 8m native trees 👇🌳🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌲 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Friday already and another challenging #PoemsAbout #OutAfterMidnight. Thanks @thebrokenspine.co.uk, hope you like my reminiscence of Manchester in the mid-80s! #poetry #writingcommunity

Genuinely struggled to do anything with this week's #poemsabout #WrongBody, but finally came up with this! Thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk as always for the prompt! Will look forward to reading others later! #poems #poetry

Total Scottish culture spending fell by 33% between 2013 and 2025, from 1.12% of all local and national expenditure to 0.75%, according to campaign group Culture Counts’ new long view dataset on the country’s public investment in the arts.

Another fantastic #promptcombo this week - #NothingMakesSenseNowadays. Thanks for this one Paul @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social and the chance to channel some grumpiness! #poetrycommunity

Here's something for #FragmentsFriday that I've been playing around with for a while... @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social @matthewmcsmith.bsky.social #poems #poetry #poietrycommunity

Genuinely don't know if the wee man is called IrnBru, Whisky or Buckfast...