Sign in

Sam Garvan

@garvansam.bsky.social
1.9K followers 2.3K following 380 posts

Poet. Reader. Plums, raspberries, apricots. Recently in Asymptote, New Welsh Review, Finished Creatures, Cyphers. Troubadour Prize. Jt runner-up Keats-Shelley prize. He/him.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Anne-Marie Fyfe @anne-marie-fyfe.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Last couple of places on the repeat of my new course 'Cloudwatching: Magic, Mood & Memory' which starts next Sunday, 18th for 7 weeks. We're already at module six of the first run with lots of imaginative inspired cloudwriting! details/booking info: tinyurl.com/cloudwatchin... art: thor lindeneg
011
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"The audience is a log waiting to be split open" Loving this poem by Matt Rasmussen..

Chekhov's Gun

    

by Matt Rasmussen

Nothing ever absolutely has to happen. The gun 
doesn't have to be fired. When our hero sits 

on the edge of his bed contemplating the pistol 
on his nightstand, you have to believe he might 

not use it. Then the theatre is sunk in blackness.
The audience is a log waiting to be split open. The faint 

scuff of feet. Objects are picked up, shuffled away. 
Other things are put down. Based on the hushed sounds 

you guess: a bed, some walls, a dresser. You feel 
everything shift. You sense yourself being picked up, 

set down. A cone of light cracks overhead. The audience's 
eyes flicker toward you like droplets of water.
073
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Nicolas Robert @robertsnickc.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
‘The Delphic Sibyl.’ #Painting (detail), Cappella Sistina, Vatican, by Michelangelo [1509] #art
0191
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Nicolas Robert @robertsnickc.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
‘Chactas meditating on Atala’s tomb.’ #Sculpture by Francisque Joseph Duret (1836) #art
0407
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I will be joining a poetry-writing seminar series this autumn/spring given by the wonderful Stav Poleg. It starts this Saturday but there's still time to join: poetryschool.com/courses/stav...
poetryschool.com
Stav Poleg Cambridge Seminar 2026/27 • Poetry School
Intimate monthly seminars with Stav Poleg in Cambridge.
022
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Oh, that is interesting, thank-you for posting
140
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Love this ...
063
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Jo Coyne @jopolkadot.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
…the Spring itself is full of you..” Rainer Maria Rilke 📷©️Katia Chausheva
010632
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Beautiful and enigmatic poem by Rilke ..
Before Summer Rain

Suddenly, from all the green around you,
something-you don't know what-has disappeared;
you feel it creeping closer to the window,
in total silence. From the nearby wood

you hear the urgent whistling of a plover,
reminding you of someone's Saint Jerome:
so much solitude and passion come
from that one voice, whose fierce request the downpour

will grant. The walls, with their ancient portraits, glide
away from us, cautiously, as though
they weren't supposed to hear what we are saying.

And reflected on the faded tapestries now;
the chill, uncertain sunlight of those long
childhood hours when you were so afraid.
1134
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Claude Monet @monet.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The trees in Monet's Poplars were auctioned off for timber while he was still painting them. Rather than lose the motif, he struck a deal with the buyer: a share of the cost, on condition the poplars stayed standing a few months more.
08117
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Oo-er, Louise Glück, so good
121
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Ben Niespodziany 📚🎪 @neonpajamas.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
my book is out next month! if you grab a copy, let me know, and I'll write you a personalized poem www.gasherpress.com/product-page...
"Made death new to me." - Hedgie Choi

book cover of Uncle Time by Benjamin Niespodziany, 2025 poetry chapbook prize winner

out on October 15, 2026 with Gasher Press
2249
Reposted by Sam Garvan
womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Rowan MacGregor, UK based artist making delicate copper sculptures #WomensArt
Flat copper artwork featuring a central tree with birds and a human figure either side of the trunk
31179190
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Give it up! There are lots of good books to read ...!
010
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Beautiful poem ...
121
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Elena Zhang @ezhang77.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The mid-autumn festival is this week, so it’s the perfect time to get a copy of my mini-chapbook, full of tiny poems inspired by Chinese folklore www.tinywrenlit.com/product-page...
Cover of chapbook The Moon, My Heart
poems by Elena Zhang, the cover is the moon with pink blossoms in the foreground The Moon, My Heart
In this story, Chang'e opens her mouth and I eat the egg inside.
Yolk sun in white moon.
I finally understand what Teresa Teng meant when she sang the moon represents my heart.
She meant immortal mothers and birthday gifts, and the starlit waning of time.
11811
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
010
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Oh - marvellous surprise poem by Caroline Bird
042
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Henri Matisse @henrimatisse.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Woman in a Purple Coat, 1937 botfrens.com/collections/48/content…
Woman in a Purple Coat
15313
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Elena Zhang @ezhang77.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A poem of mine in the @robmclennan.bsky.social spotlight series (robmclennan.medium.com/spotlight-se...) #smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social
Iced Coffee
The grief counselor counts the mangled eyes.
The daughter slips attention.
There is no evidence of escape. Everyone is crying. I forget your name and start to speak heartbeat.
1278
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Nicholas Allen @dedalusdenaries.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
My souvenir from Edo Is the refreshingly cold wind Of Mount Fuji I brought home on my fan. Bashō
0182
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Julia @chiaroscuro1897.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
If you find yourself in Cambridge this weekend, do explore the ‘Everyday Histories’ group show at the Keate Family Arts Trust. It features pieces by local artists such as Roelof Bakker, @garvansam.bsky.social, @erincoppin.bsky.social… & me! www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/keate...
opencambridge.cam.ac.uk
Keate Family Arts Trust
'Everyday Histories' - following an open call to local artists, we have curated an exhibition in our customary fashion with a mixture of works from our collection and other artist's work. There will
133
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Emma Mitchell @silverpebble2.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Small finds from the wood, September 🍒🪶🌿:
A collection of small nature finds from my local woodland, including green acorn, rosehips, Viburnum opulus berries, pigeon feather, spindle berries & leaves , alder cones & grove snail shells
16736140
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Litbowl @litbowl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
What a perfect late-summer poem. From Li-Young Lee's book, Rose: bookshop.org/a/862/9780918526533 #poem #booksky #writing
23915
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thanks! Hope to bump into you there ..
010
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Microsoft wants to build three massive AI data centres in Leeds. It’ll drain thousands of litres of water from the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop the council's final sign-off, but we need more voices. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop the Microsoft AI megasite in Leeds!
Microsoft want to build three huge AI data centres at Skelton Grange. It would drain the River Aire and become the city's biggest carbon emitter. We can still stop it - add your name to the petition.
031
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Crikey!
010
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Clever, funny and beautiful poem here by Allison Funk, about the tightrope walker Blondin www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...
poetryfoundation.org
The Poetry Foundation
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
021
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"Once I was half flower, half self" Marvellous Alice Oswald poem on the @poetrypharmacy.bsky.social website - scroll down to see it poetrypharmacy.co.uk/blogs/newsle...
poetrypharmacy.co.uk
from the store of the self itself
Something wicked has been brewing at the Poetry Pharmacy…We’re aware of a chill in the air, the evenings drawing in and the darkness beginning to encroach and it's the perfect time to introduce Poetry...
030
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🚨 An undercover investigation shown on Channel 4 exposed Reform figures allegedly breaking the law over foreign funding. Now demand a full criminal investigation. Sign the petition. 🔥 you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/in...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Sign the petition to hold politicians to account
Together, we can make sure no one - however rich or powerful they may be - is allowed to take us or our democracy for a ride.
000
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
An online course coming up with the wonderful Stav Poleg www.hillsroad.ac.uk/adult-educat...
hillsroad.ac.uk
Poetry Writing (online)
Learn to write poetry, or enhance your skills, in the comfort of your own home with our online Poetry Writing course. Each week you’ll learn about a…
010
Reposted by Sam Garvan
David Atkinson @davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
As we close out August and bring summer to an end I will leave you with this perfect little sonnet I may spark some controversy with this statement, but... I think this might be a better blackberry poem than Heaney’s ‘cramming the black honey of summer into my mouth’ #poetry #poemoftheday
Poem - 'August' by Mary Oliver
512022
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Oh, would be lovely to go to this ...
030
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Titania @titaniasrealm.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
When I say I'm travelling by sea, this is what I mean 🎨 DD McInnes
Painting depicting a mouse inside a tea cup using a spoon to paddle.
14742102
Reposted by Sam Garvan
littlebluestudio.bsky.social @littlebluestudio.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Sometimes I use Emerald Ash Borer carved bark in my mosaics. The patterns I find remind me of ancient glyphs. #BlueSkyArtShow #Nature #MessagesFromInsects #Fascinating #WaterCuredWoodMosaics #WildMagickWoman #LittleBlueStudio LUVLOCAL luvlocal.co/pages/vendor...
172
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Séamas Aloysius @seamusaloysius.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
An image drawn 36,000 years ago in Spain's Altamira Cave, probably drawn by Cro-Magnons.
An image drawn 36,000 years ago in Spain's Altamira Cave, probably drawn by Cro-Magnons.
22689119
Reposted by Sam Garvan
DJ Plague Mouse 💎🐁 @rhinestonemice.wtf · 30/08/2026
Walt Whitman #smallpoemsunday #poetry
SOMETIMES with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I effuse  
 unreturn'd love,
But now I think there is no unreturn'd love, the pay is certain one  
 way or another,
(I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not return'd,
Yet out of that I have written these songs.)
092
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Oh good! I hope we bump into each other in Trafalgar Road! Just been looking at your work on the internet - beautiful and intriguing. (And oh, my poem is also very tiny, and terribly grassy.)
110
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Wow - I have heard these many times, in Greece, but never seen one - extraordinary!!
030
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
If you are in Cambridge on 12th/13th Sept, I have a poem/print with Asemic Writing on display at the Keate Family Arts Trust - a quirky, delightful place. www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/keate... Detail below:
a fragment of the poem, which reads "the sound of crickets in the", and below that a part of the Asemic Writing - an image evocative perhaps of blades of grass.
110
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Stoat Poetry @stoatpoetry.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
The cover art for our first issue was done by the fabulous Tamizh Ponni VP. We publish a few pages of art in each issue, as well as poems and we're always looking for cover art - please send us your art/drawings by 31st August and tell your artist friends! www.stoatmagazine.co.uk/submit
032
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Lovely, poignant poem by Carrie Shipers, 'Mother Talks Back to the Monster'
Tonight, I dressed my son in astronaut pajamas,
kissed his forehead and tucked him in.
I turned on his night-light and looked for you
in the closet and under the bed. I told him
you were nowhere to be found, but I could smell
your breath, your musty fur. I remember
all your tricks: the jagged shadows on the wall,
click of your claws, the hand that hovered
just above my ankles if I left them exposed.
Since I became a parent I see danger everywhere—
unleashed dogs, sudden fevers, cereal
two days out of date. And even worse
than feeling so much fear is keeping it inside,
trying not to let my love become so tangled
with anxiety my son thinks they're the same.
When he says he's seen your tail or heard
your heavy step, I insist that you aren't real.
Soon he'll feel too old to tell me his bad dreams.
If you get lonely after he's asleep, you can
always come downstairs. I'll be sitting
at the kitchen table with the dishes
I should wash, crumbs I should wipe up.
We can drink hot tea and talk about
the future, how hard it is to be outgrown.
0101
Reposted by Sam Garvan
John Vigar FSA @johnevigar.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Medieval singing face formerly in Walsoken Church, Norfolk now in Wisbech Museum #woodensday
2378
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Campaign for the Arts @campaignforthearts.org · 30/07/2026
🌱 Momentum is growing. Will you keep it going? www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10...
campaignforthearts.org
Prime Minister – put the arts in your 10-year plan for the UK | Campaign for the Arts
Sign our petition urging the UK Government to build a country where the arts are available from childhood, accessible to all and thriving everywhere.
012
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Paul Nash | Paul atten Ash @northseanavigator.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Celebrated our 20th anniversary in Bath. Discovering the work of Jane Urquhart (1947–1983) was one of the highlights at Victoria Art Gallery. ‘Self portrait’ 1969 Oil on canvas 'A Box of Saints’ 1967 Oil on canvas #janeurquhart #janeurquhartartist #painting #victoriaartgallery #bath
081
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Rattle Poetry @rattlepoetry.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Katie Kingston from Rattle 23, Summer 2005 Read the full poem: Rattle.com/primary-hue-by-katie-kingston #poetry
"I can read all the parts of red." Katie Kingston from "Primary Hue"
131
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Paula Cooper @iceniphoto.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Dandelion
1143
Reposted by Sam Garvan
Stoat Poetry @stoatpoetry.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Fabulous review of Stoat Issue 1 by the wonderful Alison Miller in The Orcadian. And we are open for submissions for Issue 2! Send us your poems by the end of August, via: www.stoatmagazine.co.uk/submit
021
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Ha-ha, love that, hello Whimsy fawn ...
010
Sam Garvan @garvansam.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
mysterious and beautiful
060