iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Fiftywords @fiftywords.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This #PoemsAbout #Rot is for any football fans disgusted by wha been goin on at the Etihad. Thanks as ever to @thebrokenspine.co.uk

Rot Rain into grass, crowd into club, street into stand,
father into son.
The roots went deep. They drew on place, memory,
rivalry, the stubborn hope
of another Saturday.
Then came the harvesters.
The shirt.
The ground.
The kick-off.
The television rights.
Sham contracts worked into the earth, accounts tattened, money buried, dug up,
called something else. Season after season the trophies came, bright fruit
from poisoned ground. Now the roots are shallow,
but the rot is deep.
Again.
Again. Until the soil
gave up its goodness.
What remained
was fed with money.
Artificial light.
Artificial heat.
Artificial growth.
And City rejoiced in barren soil. brands. assets.
data. And where the game once grew from the ground, something rank has taken hold, blue, glossy,
rampant,
feeding on what is left.

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Very excited to have my story Echo in the new issue of @epistemiclit.bsky.social. Read it along with lots of other great writing here: epistemiclit.com/current-issue

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Epistemic Literary- Read Issue 8: Righteous Rage now! @epistemiclit.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Our newest issue, AGENCY VS DETERMINISM, is out today! Read, enjoy, and share! We’ll be sharing individual pieces over the next week or so 😊 #LitMagWeek epistemiclit.com/current-issue/

epistemiclit.com

Current Issue -

digital literary anthology accepting submissions based on theme to open conversations aimed at interpersonal understanding.

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Jamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

“I use AI art because I wasn’t born talented at art” is something I hear a lot now and it’s so ridiculously insulting to artists I have to scream into a cupboard every time.

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Welsh Bollocks @welshbollocks.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Piddington Bear (2026) : An orphaned bear arrives in the village of Piddington by bus having fled Siberia after a Vladimir Putin burns down the forest he called home. He's befriended by a small girl called Sasha before being hunted to his death by the local W.I. (PG)

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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm gathering good roasts for a thing....what are the best clean/not punching down ones you know? Or your kids know? Kids often know best on these matters. Every joker who replies with a picture of some roast lamb will be stopped. Perhaps not today. But one day. I mean insults and you know that.

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Francesca L Rolle @francesca-laura.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A weed is just a wildflower in the wrong place, So they say, I find myself collecting things, Sayings, empty snail shells, other people's anxieties, Everything has it's place, Except for those stray nipple hairs, They, can go elsewhere. #PoemsAbout #Strays

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This week I would like to present a representation of the inside of my brain in poem form. #WordOfTheWeek #Muddle #WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryForChildren #PoetryCommunity

Boat

I got into a muddle in the middle of a puddle
when the pedal of my model boat from Lidl most befuddled me
I waddled to the puddle where I meddled with the pedal
but though straddling the puddle for to fiddle with the model boat
I found it not a doddle of a riddle in the puddle
and no medal would I model just for twiddling the pedal
so I waddled from the muddle in the middle of the puddle
left my model boat from Lidl with its pedal and skedaddled

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Jen Thorne @jenthorne.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I hope everyone is having a good Friday. I am off to a poetry festival so am very happy. @ianbrownlie.bsky.social I tried to stay away from the darkness and mostly succeeded (mostly). @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk #PoemsAbout #Strays #Poetry

A Menagerie of Misfits

They keep their distance
I keep mine.
We meet in narrow places
where need outweighs caution.

Their world is built
from small permissions.
A step closer,
a touch shared
without a bite.
A moment without retreat.

Affection isn’t promised.
It arrives like a blunt fact,
without ceremony,
without apology.

I take what is offered.
I don’t ask for more.
The truth stays simple:
I wasn’t their saviour.

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Doug Sloane @dougsloane.eurosky.social · 15/09/2026

What a statement. That's how you do it.

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Doug Sloane @dougsloane.eurosky.social · 14/09/2026

What a great statement by Macklemore

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Absolutely over the moon (sorry) to have a poem in The School Magazine! Perfectly illustrated by Greg Holfeld too. #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #KidLit #WritingForChildren #Poem #Aliens

A page from the September edition of The School Magazine, Australia. The illustration by Greg Holfeld shows a child in a spacesuit bouncing on a trampoline, while below a dog with many eyes looks on.

Aliens

Do you believe in aliens?
Archibald does not.
Though he dresses as a Space Ranger
from the distant planet Splot.

He bounces on his trampoline
and pretends he’s up in space,
darting through the starry sky
as the Vandrigogs give chase.

But Archie knows that’s make believe.
The Vandrigogs aren’t real.
There’s no such place as Extoo 5
and Squinks aren’t pink and teal.

He takes his Ranger helmet off
and climbs into bed at night.
He wiggles his antennae
and then shuts his twelve eyes tight!

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Things I was frightened of as a child: Triffids That disused first aid hut People without faces (thanks Sapphire and Steel) Spiders Dreams about that disused first aid hut The lizards from V Parts of the old Bromsgrove swimming baths, between the changing rooms and the pool (Backrooms vibes)

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Sue Ibrahim @sueimnw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

For this week's #PoemsAbout theme #FaultLines with thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And this morning I have given myself the earworm of 'Your Fault' from Into the Woods. Which is great, but even so. #PoemsAbout #FaultLines

my fault

clearly things had gone pear-shaped
it was another failure
another inquest would begin
another post-mortem
concluding that there had been
no indication

but i would pass my driving test eventually

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Tech companies adding genAI features to their devices. 'Hey, what if this thing you like and use all the time did the most annoying fucking thing you've ever seen?'

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Inspired by @jenthorne.bsky.social's Black Country #PoetsOfDoom #Local #Poem. Being from ten miles south of Birmingham, the linguistic differences aren't quite so apparent! @sonnetsmith.bsky.social @daveashleypoet.bsky.social #poetrycommunity

outdoors

my brummie accent had been carefully disappeared
by the time i arrived at university in liverpool
to meet up with a bunch of southerners
that i hoped to blend in with

but in the very first week
we needed to go and buy alcohol
from the small shop
that sold mainly alcohol

honestly
i’d have got less grief for shitting my pants
than i got for asking the southerners
if we were going to the outdoor*

* An outdoor is an off-licence or liquor store. But only if you’re from a certain area, apparently.

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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 02/09/2026

#OddChallenge Number 3. Write a poem in the form of a recipe. As ever, I shall be selecting a handful of responses for a future edition of #60OddPoems but I'll only use stuff that has previously been posted on social media. Tag it, bag it, and send it to forensics. #poetry #prompts

The excellent image for this month's challenge comes from Diana who runs a website filled with vintage items and photographs at https://adirondackgirlatheart.com/

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I made a bit of a meal of this one @zoomburst.substack.com #OddChallenge #60OddPoems #poetry #prompts (Only one of these measurements isn't real, by the way.)

My Secret Recipe

7 grams of Keep your nose out
2 teaspoons of Hey, don’t stare
1 cup of Mind your own business
Just a pinch of I won’t share
13 quarts of No, not telling
6 pounds of What’s it to you?
Half a pint of Get ‘orf my land
12 good pecks of No can do
A quarter squench of Stay in your lane
8 firlots of I shan’t say
5 crans of Get lost and stay there
1 handful of Go away!

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Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Time to fold that dress, put sandals at the back of the shoe chest. My toes recoil from the chill, but my fingers linger on flimsy fabric still, as evening shadows encroach further on my window sill. #PoemsAbout #EndOfSummer

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Really tried of the genre of bsky discourse that goes: "Here is an incredibly pointless thing I use LLMs for, now please bsky be normal about it." >>

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Sue Ibrahim @sueimnw.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

For this week's #PoemsAbout theme #EndOfSummer with thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk

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Karen Pierce Gonzalez @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Some #Prompts are like stage curtains. In this case, when pulled back, they can reveal #poetic plots worthy (I hope) of applause! #PoemsAbout #EndOfSummer #Poetry #PoetsOfBlueSky @thebrokenspine.co.uk #StayCreative

Season’s End

Someone left a rowboat
tied to the dry dock
of late summer

Was that you?

Did you row with driftwood oars
to the sleepy shore of me
sandy
sun-warmed

waiting
always waiting
for the promise of you

to ripen on my tongue?

And why did you
surf the salt waves of my want
then dissolve
without even swimming

the sea in my heart?

Karen Pierce Gonzalez

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A #Haiku for #PoemsAbout #EndOfSummer. Written yesterday morning, when I was very glad to have some rain. a curtain of rain now falls on shakedown summer hold those encores please @thebrokenspine.co.uk

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The sad news about Dolly Parton inspired me to yet another #PoetsOfDoom effort. The two songs mentioned regularly featured in family playlists for long car journeys.

Screenshot (1 of 2) of a Spotify playlist with titles partially blacked out, and remaining words making up the first line of the poem: No more Jolene or 9 to 5 tomorrow

Screenshot (2 of 2) of a Spotify playlist with titles partially blacked out, and remaining words making up the second line of the poem: Parton is such sweet sorrow

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Funnily enough, I was working on this one before the #PoetsOfDoom prompt, but the aim is sort of the same, just using full titles of things to increase the difficulty level for myself! Extensive notes given in alt text. @sonnetsmith.bsky.social @jenthorne.bsky.social @daveashleypoet.bsky.social

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

A second entry for #PoemsAbout #DeepCuts, which, well, just does what the title says really. (References in alt text) @thebrokenspine.co.uk @stacebot.bsky.social

Here is a reference list of the ‘deep cuts’ that make up the poem. Please bear in mind that whether something is a deep cut is often context-dependent!

Songs
Life is by Jessica Pratt
Ever Rotating Sky by David Thomas Broughton
It’s Raining Today by Scott Walker
The Past is a Grotesque Animal by Of Montreal
Loneliness Shines by Malcolm Middleton

Albums
Waking the Dreaming Body by Karima Walker
And I Have Been by Benjamin Clementine
The Ruby Cord by Richard Dawson

TV Shows
Delocated (Jon Glaser witness protection comedy)
15 Stories High (comedian Sean Lock's best work)

Films
The Illusionist (not that one, the 2010 Chomet film)
Identikit (1974 adaptation of Spark’s The Driver’s Seat with Liz Taylor)
House (1977 Japanese horror)
Perfect Blue (1997 anime)
River (2023 Japanese time-loop film)
A New Leaf (1971 Elaine May comedy)
In Fabric (2018, Peter Strickland horror, or comedy if you're in the right mood)
Images (1972, Altman)
PlayTime (1967, Tati)
The Night Visitor (1971 Max von Sydow thriller)

Misc
Going Deep – US improv comedy podcast about a therapist with Lily Sullivan
Now You Know – song from the musical Merrily We Roll Along

Full poem text:

this poem is made up of titles that will one day no longer be deep cuts because this poem will have become so famous

life is the illusionist
identikit house
ever rotating sky
perfect blue river

a new leaf waking
the dreaming body delocated
fifteen stories high in
fabric images

playtime
it’s raining
today the past is
a grotesque animal
and i have been the ruby cord
the night visitor
going deep now
you know loneliness shines

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Jen Thorne @jenthorne.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"I SMELL TOAST" Halloween 2026 anthology is now open for submissions ✍️🎃 I am so excited about this joint project with @madp03t.bsky.social We want your poetry, flash fiction and art 🫵 Everyone is welcome, more details and how to submit are below 👇 Please share 🙏 shorturl.at/xqxsA

shorturl.at

IST - Call for Submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS I SMELL TOASTA Halloween anthology of poetry, flash fiction & original visual art Jen Thorne and Eric "Madp03t" Montgomery, publishing as The Ampersand Syndicate, are putting to...

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My first thought this week was doing a poem about some nerdy deep cuts in music or films, but I couldn't quite get my thoughts on that together. This one is a little more surgical. #PoemsAbout #DeepCuts @thebrokenspine.co.uk

The poem is shaped so that the first four, rhyming, lines are semi-structured but rough, with the remaining lines being split up roughly in the middle to give the impression of a cut running through the poem.

the first cut

protected by a solid wall
that keeps out water, cold and all
toxicants that might do harm
a barrier and magic charm
but what about the artful knife
that’s sharp enough to breach blockades
in seconds hungrily cleanly
slicing down slicing through
until you are forced to admit
it’s only skin it’s only skin

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Epistemic Literary- Read Issue 8: Righteous Rage now! @epistemiclit.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Please spread the word to the #KidLit writers and illustrators, teachers, parents, and children in your lives! Subs are sloooow epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

epistemiclit.com

SUBMIT -

SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN AUGUST 1-SEPTEMBER 15, 2026.

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Samantha Terrell @samanthaterrell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Friends and #poetrylovers, I'm delighted to share that my new collection 'Survival Instincts' releases from The Poetry Lighthouse (UK) one month from today...Sept. 18th. I thought today would be a good day for a #coverreveal! I hope you'll keep an eye out and consider reading 'Survival Instincts'!

cover art of 'Survival Instincts' by Samantha Terrell , green and orange sunset over hills

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Emjayess @em-jay-ess.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I knew I saved this for a reason!

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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Delighted to have 'The Day My Books Grew Wings' up on dirigibleballoon.org, especially as the writing of it was inspired by the #NationalYearOfReading #PoetryForChildren #Poetry #Books #WritingCommunity @northernjim.bsky.social

Screenshot from the Dirigible Balloon website of the poem The Day My Books Grew Wings. https://dirigibleballoon.org/poem/The-Day-My-Books-Grew-Wings

The Day My Books Grew Wings

One day, while tidying my shelves,
daydreaming bookish things,
from out the corner of one eye
I saw my books grow wings!

They shuffled forward from their nooks,
trembling in delight.
With pages flapping to and fro,
books started to take flight!

First Noughts and Crosses, Wimpy Kid
and then Lord of the Rings,
weaving words through vacant air
on the day my books grew wings.

Heartstopper flew beside my head,
and took my breath away.
Then War Horse rode by on the breeze.
(I think I heard it ‘neigh’.)

Rosen, Seuss and Silverstein,
with words their books did sing,
while floating rhythmically along
on the day my books took wing.

The Twits and Mr Gum dipped down,
looking to attack.
But Asterix and Madeline
steered those rascals back on track.

Peter Pan, Holes and Rooftoppers,
true tales of queens and kings,
added to the epic flock
all because my books grew wings.

Above – Amari, Alice, Anne,
Lyra, Aslan, Pooh.
A character cacophony,
an imagination stew!

Stick Man joined Grimm’s Fairy Tales,
Baum’s Oz, Sendak’s Wild Things.
Sweet sentences swooped wild and free
on the day my books grew wings.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

#PoemsAbout #MainStage @thebrokenspine.co.uk and #PoetsOfDoom #MisheardLyrics. I will put a link to an entertaining (I hope) reading in the comments.

THE MERELY PLAYERS

Fourth grade, first year in public school,
nobody, so they made me one of ten little Indians
in the play about Johnny Appleseed,
my mother embarrassed
at the holey underarms in my tee shirt
not my whoop whoop whooping
and swinging a fucking toy tomahawk.
Fifth grade I’m straight A’s
and get a lead in the school musical,
but way cooler is being promoted
to safety patrol lieutenant
assigned to the crossing guard who works
the corner outside her dad’s candy store
and sneaks us free treats every morning.

Living in a fish island, charmless subdivisions,
we are all anybodies in unibodies getting
fooled again as we bang our steering wheels
to glove box 8-tracks and album rock anthems.
Little girls with bad intent, archetypal
Aqua Netted Barbarellas racing Barbie Ferraris
with Barbara O’Riley and Barber Ann,
calendar girls wrapped up like a douche
telling you to end your life but it’s too late.
I’d rather be a reverend in blue jeans
feeling the meat from a tangerine and
I’ve no excuse for kissing a moose in the jungle,
but she’s so Fuckin’ A, she’s so Fuckin’ A!!!

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