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Jo Bell

@jobellwriter.bsky.social
1.3K followers 554 following 177 posts

Poet, digital salonniere. Host of The Poetic Licence (Patreon) - monthly prompts, famous poet interviews, a creative community. Memoir, BOATER out now with HarperNorth. linktr.ee/BoaterJoBell

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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Boater comes to Deepings Festival on May 3rd for a brunchtime reading at Molecey Mill. Join us! deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk/fest…
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Boater comes to Deepings Festival on May 3rd for a brunchtime reading at Molecey Mill. Join us! deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk/fest…
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Boater comes to Deepings Festival on May 3rd for a brunchtime reading at Molecey Mill. Join us! deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk/fest…
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Beginning a memoir? Beginning to think about it? Join me in North Yorks to get started. www.tickettailor.com/events/thepoet…
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Beginning a memoir? Beginning to think about it? Join me in North Yorks to get started. www.tickettailor.com/events/thepoet…
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Coming up next Saturday afternoon - a lively selection of rousing speeches from great women including local firebrands, international activists and people who changed the world with their words. Join us - bring your mothers, sisters and (please!) your fathers and brothers too.
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
You can write, but can you READ like a writer? Active reading is a secret weapon; it enlarges the toolkit, and turbo charges your own writing. Join me and Sam Jordison at Arvon's loveliest house this May. Bring sticky notes and some work in progress! bit.ly/4qY1qdQ
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Fancy some March magic? Arrive at 10pm, leave at dawn. Write, snooze and wake. Star-gazing, ink-making; and the words that come when creative people hunker down together, on the first night of spring. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/poetry-sleep…
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Judi Sutherland @judisutherland.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
To generalise what she is saying: ‘There is no such thing as society.’
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Bruce Springsteen @brucespringsteen.net · 28/01/2026
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free
youtu.be
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
It is the seventieth birthday of (genuine) national treasure @imcmillan.bsky.social - a source of thoughtful good humour in all his posts, a brilliant host at the TS Eliot awards the other night, and a Very Good Egg. Happy birthday sir, hope you spend it with those you love xx
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Rejoice, for Ian McMillan has left X and joined us here. Follow him for a dose of thoughtful happiness every day @imcmillan.bsky.social
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Norman Hadley @normanhadley.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Book Review. "Boater" by @jobellwriter.bsky.social This magnificent book elegantly braids together three narratives. The first is the history of the British (English, really) canal network. The subject matter isn't dry and neither is the prose. Yes, there are dates and names and Great Men in top...
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Want to write more (or better) poems in 2026? This best-selling book got hundreds of poets into print for the first time. Do what it says on the cover, or dip into it for rich prompts, exemplar poems and tips to develop your practice. #iwroteit #obviously www.waterstones.com/book/52-writ...
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Want to write more (or better) poems in 2026? This best-selling book got hundreds of poets into print for the first time. Do what it says on the cover, or dip into it for rich prompts, exemplar poems and tips to develop your practice. #iwroteit #obviously www.waterstones.com/book/52-writ...
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Catherine Redford @catherineredford.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
One of my favourite poems from the past year: ‘On finding a cow’s jawbone in my city garden’ by @poetsarahdoyle.bsky.social Published in issue 16 of The Alchemy Spoon.
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Tim Clare @timclare.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
The second was with poet & author @jobellwriter.bsky.social - we talked about archeology, empathy & building a creative community. on.soundcloud.com/LVECW25gaUXo...
soundcloud.com
S8E9 - Jo Bell
I chat with poet and nonfiction author Jo Bell about her journey from archaeologist to poet to memoir writer, and how the three titles are intimately linked. We talk about writing and critiquing poetr
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
The 52 project changed a lot of poets' lives and led to this best-selling workbook, now used by many groups and MA courses. If you want to write a poem a week in 2026 - or just get a shedload of good prompts and new poems to read - you can find it here ninearchespress.com/publications...
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The lovely Tim Clare invited me onto his podcast, Death of 1000 Cuts and we talked for ages about poetry, Roman walls and the treasure that is good feedback. Thanks sir! soundcloud.com/timclare/s8e...
soundcloud.com
S8E9 - Jo Bell
I chat with poet and nonfiction author Jo Bell about her journey from archaeologist to poet to memoir writer, and how the three titles are intimately linked. We talk about writing and critiquing poetr
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
The lovely Tim Clare invited me onto his podcast, Death of 1000 Cuts and we talked for ages about poetry, Roman walls and the treasure that is good feedback. Thanks sir! soundcloud.com/timclare/s8e...
soundcloud.com
S8E9 - Jo Bell
I chat with poet and nonfiction author Jo Bell about her journey from archaeologist to poet to memoir writer, and how the three titles are intimately linked. We talk about writing and critiquing poetr
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
It's day 15 of our FREE advent posts on The Poetic Licence. Today it's national treasure Ian McMillan and a magical harmonica. www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
patreon.com
Advent #15: Available for Experience | The Poetic Licence
Get more from The Poetic Licence on Patreon
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
BOATER is doing tremendously well - check out the Amazon reviews if that is your style - and my goodness, what a GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT IT WOULD MAKE. It's both a personal history and a history of the canals, with some startling information about the marital relations of ducks along the way.
uk.bookshop.org
Boater: A Life on England's Waterways
A Life on England's Waterways
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
BOATER is doing tremendously well - check out the Amazon reviews if that is your style - and my goodness, what a GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT IT WOULD MAKE. It's both a personal history and a history of the canals, with some startling information about the marital relations of ducks along the way.
uk.bookshop.org
Boater: A Life on England's Waterways
A Life on England's Waterways
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
The Poetic Licence has a 24-day advent calendar event.... every day a FREE post with a poem to consider and the chance to discuss it with other members. Here's the first! www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
patreon.com
Advent #1 : What's that coming towards us? | The Poetic Licence
Get more from The Poetic Licence on Patreon
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
"A woman is not going to have sex with a man who splits the bill with her." If this is progressive then god help us all. The man who *insists* on paying for dinner every time is working on precisely that assumption. It's his job to pay, right? And what he's paying for is sex, right? Wrong.
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Pru Madeley @prum.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
The Poetic Licence has a 24-day advent calendar event.... every day a FREE post with a poem to consider and the chance to discuss it with other members. Here's the first! www.patreon.com/posts/advent...
patreon.com
Advent #1 : What's that coming towards us? | The Poetic Licence
Get more from The Poetic Licence on Patreon
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Jo Bell @jobellwriter.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Be like Christine! My boating memoir (full of nuggets of canal history and culture) would be such lovely Christmas reading....
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Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Hi there! We’re not ‘device hoarding,’ we’re paying for groceries and healthcare instead of buying new phones every year, hope this helps your cold dead heart
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Christine Stovell @chrisstovell.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Just finished this and absolutely relished it. Read it far too quickly so now have to embark on the slow read. Wonderful. @jobellwriter.bsky.social
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Lying in politics is wrong and should never be rewarded, says newspaper which pays Boris Johnson £1 million a year to be its star columnist
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Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Thank you, lovely Liverpool, for a terrific night yesterday. Today we’re heading to Sheffield for another evening of poetry and music. Tickets here should you fancy coming along: leadmill.co.uk/event/brian-...
A poster for our show in Sheffield tonight at The Foundry.
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Mick Gowar @mickgowar.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
The latest Ted Hughes Society featuring the poetry of Steve Ely, who reads from his brilliant long poems The European Eel, Lives of British Shrews and Orasaigh. Available on our host Acast at: open.acast.com/public/strea... on Amazon Music, Apple, Spotify and Audible.
open.acast.com
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Let's just take a moment to reflect on the self-sacrifice and hope this person embodies - not the evil, hateful monsters thirsting for violence.
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Roger Hare @hareontherun.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Near Cheltenham on Nov 13th? A great free poetry event with Hannah Lowe & Stewart Carswell 😊 👇
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Sharks absolutely get cancer, and people claiming otherwise are pseudoscientific grifters preying on the desperate. Even if sharks did not get cancer, eating shark would not cure your cancer any more than eating LeBron James would make you better at basketball.
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
I have been charged in a federal indictment sought by the Department of Justice. This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.
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Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Asylum seekers, housed in hotels in Manchester, are reaching out in their own words to address the concerns of the local community. Please take a minute to read their letter, & share it with the people in your life who need to hear the truth about the people they are protesting.
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Adam Farrer @adamjfarrer.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Calm down, Kissabel. We all are.
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scare-ah 👻 @sarahmillswrites.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Tfw you write a draft and you know a poem has promise, but it's not there yet. But you've done this enough times to know that this poem is not going to be one of the abandoned ones, and when it does figure itself out, it's going to feel like magic. ✨
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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 16/10/2025
Welcome, new Bluesky users! Please check out the thread below for tips on setting up your account, making your feed more interesting, finding old Twitter friends, search, privacy, stats, and more (and please ask questions if you have them) (I'll have to rewrite & update the thread soon!)
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Co-operative Party @coopparty.party.coop · 13/10/2025
Co-operative housing already shows what’s possible when people own where they live. Fair rents, strong communities, real security. In Parliament today, the Housing Minister agreed: it’s time to explore how law can help it grow.
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Faber Books @faberbooks.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Today we are celebrating the publication of The Poems of Seamus Heaney, the long-awaited, definitive edition of Heaney’s poetry.
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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
I'm the most famous eel historian in the world! How is that not great? Also, I've met tons of wonderful people & made some of my very best friends. I've been able to launch a whole new career as a mapmaker & artist. I've been profiled in TIME, saved some eels, & shared the spaniel with the world.
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Bloodaxe Books @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Poet and broadcaster @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social paid tribute to poet and dramatist Tony Harrison on BBC Radio 4's Last Word (from 7:52). Bloodaxe's tribute is on our website page below: www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?article... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Last Word, Dame Jane Goodall, Tony Harrison, Lord Menzies Campbell, Danny Thompson
Matthew Bannister on a primatologist, a poet, a politician and a bass player.
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𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫... 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐭 @afterpoetry.com · 30/09/2025
It's nearly time again ... If you've been looking for a home for that 'after' or ekphrastic poem, @afterpoetry.com is the place for you. Submissions reopen tomorrow – October 1st 2025. You then have the entire month to send in your poem for a chance to feature in After... in 2026. Good luck! 🤞🏼
Promotional poster advertising that submissions to online ekphrastic poetry journal After... will reopen for the whole of October 2025. Gives the web address to visit as afterypoetry.com/submit.
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