iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Odysseus also makes an appearance in my forthcoming collection, in a poem about Herculean stepdad Amphitryon. Elsewhere there are homages to other epic works of the human imagination, such as Grand Theft Auto and Coronation Street. If that sounds like your cup of kykeon, you can pre-order it here:

parthianbooks.com

Here’s What Happens When You Enter a Black Hole

This book will be released in October 2026.Pre-orders are charged at time of order and the book will be posted to you as soon as it becomes available.UK postage is 99 pence per order. In Here’s What...

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Jumping on this summer’s #Odyssey bandwagon (or should that be black-hulled ship?) to share this poem from my first collection, which contains a line from E. V. Rieu’s 1946 Penguin Classics translation: ‘Bring your ship to rest, so that you may hear our voices.’

youtu.be

The Road Must Eventually Lead to the Whole World – Rhys Owain Williams

YouTube video by Rhys Owain Williams

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Exploring modern masculinity, mental health & the evolving dynamics of family, it's a celebration of the ordinary and extraordinary, honouring the stories we inherit and those we forge ourselves. Available for pre-order now – either directly from Parthian or anywhere else that sells books.

parthianbooks.com

Here’s What Happens When You Enter a Black Hole

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

✨ COVER REVEAL ✨ @parthianbooks.bsky.social are publishing my second poetry collection Here’s What Happens When You Enter a Black Hole this October!

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Chuffed to be shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition with 'Kilvey Hill' – a horror story built around urban myth and set upon Swansea's dockside Sub Marilyn. Congratulations to all the other writers on the shortlist!

swansea.ac.uk

2026 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition shortlist announced

The shortlist for the prestigious 2026 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition has been announced.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I’ve got two poems in the new issue of The Aftershock Review – & what an issue it is! Just look at the list of incredible poets on the cover, all writing in the aftershock of trauma & crisis. Diolch to editor @maxwallis.bsky.social for choosing ‘Document’ & ‘Being Less Stressed is on My To-Do List’.

Issue 3 of the Aftershock Review resting against a red brick wall. The cover is purple and includes the following names in white text: HOLLIE MCNISH, FIONA SAMPSON, ABEER AMEER, YURI LEVING, XINGYU ZHAO, AARON KENT, ITALO FERRANTE, CATHERINE REDFORD, STEPHEN BOYCE, BLAKE MORRISON, RAYMOND ANTROBUS, JESSICA MOOKHERJEE, TOM BRANFOOT, HELEN MORT, MAURA DOOLEY, KATIE HALE

A photograph of the page of the magazine that includes the poem ‘Document’ by Rhys Owain Williams. The title and some of the text of the poem are visible in the image.

A photograph of the page of the magazine that includes the poem ‘Being Less Stressed is on My To-Do List’ by Rhys Owain Williams. The title and some of the text of the poem are visible in the image.

The back cover of The Aftershock Review Issue 3. White text on purple background, including a quote from The Guardian: ‘A jolt to the mainstream.’

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Have you seen they’re up by the moon?

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

There's no way of knowing obviously, but I've always thought that this poem by Rosie Breese might realistically depict a mind's final moments: flitting, disordered and incomplete. And for that reason the last line ending on a comma gets me every time.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Do you have a favourite poem featuring an Argos van? This is mine.

DEATH COMES TO ME AS AN ARGOS VAN

The stupid thing is that as it broadsides me with turquoise and scarlet and steel
all I can think of is that dog someone read us a story about in primary school and finding it funny that someone would call their dog Argos, even if it was in Ancient Greece
and sad that he died waiting
but this only lasts a second because my bike is in freefall towards a shining road
and my day is spooling like wet videotape: tea, tea, internet, invoices,
the chimes of Tibetan bowls in my ears like raindrops.
A multi-tasker, one eye always wandering on its stray root
after water. A fetcher and carrier,
a taker of minutes. The one who makes sure
there is milk in the fridge, the bins are out, the doors are double-locked so
nothing exciting can happen, but at least things will be coherent.
Spinning back, I replay Attenborough last night narrating
the lives of rainforest plants, explaining how even the passive are fighters,
elbowing others out of the way in their bloody-minded pursuit of light,
of water to bend light through, of vision.
And how, patient and unseen, rainforests carry 50% of the world's species.
And I remember how this morning I just said goodbye and I love you
and lacked the imagination to do anything more than be clear. I didn't write you a poem today
or even any good texts. It's impossible to write a rainforest down,

– Rosie Breese

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus! The traditional leek and daffodil joined by more unconventional adornments this year 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Me wearing a green cardigan over a red Welsh football shirt. On the cardigan are leek and daffodil brooches, while on the football shirt are two stickers of cartoon dogs Chilli and Bingo from the kids’ show ‘Bluey’.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Sometimes you see a murmuration of starlings above an InPost locker at dusk and just think “oh god, not another poem”

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Love seeing your poetry prints framed and up on walls! They’re still on sale here if you want one (or just send me a DM): ko-fi.com/rhysowainwil...

Framed art print on a cream wall beside wooden floating bookshelves. The print shows a dark blue sky over a stylised sea with the silhouette of a distant ship, overlaid with the text, ‘That lone ship on the horizon arriving or leaving?’ On the shelves are stacked books, a small owl figurine and a ceramic seagull ornament.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Here are the books I read during previous Christmases. Anyone read any? Think my favourite is ‘The Morgan Trust’ by Richard Bridgeman – I still think about that story a lot whenever I’m driving around the Upper Swansea Valley and beyond.

A stack of seven books from Seth’s Ghost Story for Christmas series, placed in front of other paperbacks on a wooden shelf. The titles are: The Open Door, The Morgan Trust, Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk, One Who Saw, The Diary of Mr Poynter, The Toll House and The Crown Derby Plate.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

This year’s Ghost Story for Christmas. Another solid short story from the series, though I don’t love that Penguin have taken over from Biblioasis and made the quality of the materials used to make these stocking-filler books worse.

A copy of ‘The Captain of the Pole Star’ by Arthur Conan Doyle, published in Seth’s Ghost Story for Christmas series. The book is resting on the branches of a Christmas tree and is lit by multi-coloured LED lights.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

If you’re looking for a last-minute poetry gift, today’s the last day to order in time for Christmas delivery! 🎅📦 25% off with discount code ISAWONESHIP

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

I’m desperately searching my shelves for the slimmest books possible to get closer to my 30-book reading goal for this year. Currently on 10…

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Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams

Mari Ellis Dunning 🖋️ @mariellisdunning.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Another month, another #Substack post. There's some helpful articles linked here about existing online as a #writer (or anyone trying to 'build a brand.') open.substack.com/pub/marielli... #Rest #Christmas #AmReading #AmWriting #BookSky #WritingSky

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Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams

The Ex-Puritan @ex-puritan.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Issue 71 features poems from Yan Zhang, Maryam Ghafoor, @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social, E. M. Palitha Edirisooriya (translated by samodH Porawagamage & Kasun Pathirage), Drew McEwan, and Nicole Boyce. You can read their work at ex-puritan.ca/issue-71-fal...

ex-puritan.ca

Issue 71: Fall 2025

Issue 71: Fall 2025 has arrived! This edition features yet another incredible array of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction representing the best new and established Canadian writing.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

🎅 Looking for a gift for the poetry reader in your life? 📚 Everything in my Ko-fi shop is 25% off until 25th December when you use discount code ISAWONESHIP ko-fi.com/rhysowainwil... Books can be sent signed or unsigned, and if you let me know the person's name I'll write a dedication to them ✍️

A framed blue and white print of a ship on the horizon sits on a blue and green Welsh blanket, with a copy of the book That Lone Ship by Rhys Owain Williams placed on one side, and a postcard featuring the cover on the other. A red circle in the top right corner reads '25% off all Ko-fi Shop items with discount code ISAWONESHIP'

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

For anyone out there who’s still holding on to autumn despite the encroachment of our winter celebrations, I’ve got a new poem published in @ex-puritan.bsky.social’s Fall Issue. Diolch to editor Sanna Wani for choosing it! ex-puritan.ca/autumn-as-a-...

ex-puritan.ca

Autumn as a Lo-Fi YouTube Video

Read Rhys Owain Williams's poem "Autumn as a Lo-Fi YouTube Video" in Issue 71: Fall 2025 of The Ex-Puritan, then check out the Austin Clarke Prize in Literary Excellence!

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Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams

The Ex-Puritan @ex-puritan.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

We’re excited to release Issue 71: Fall 2025! Get cozy with vibrant new fiction, poetry, essays, interviews, and reviews, along with the winning pieces of the 2025 Austin Clarke Prize in Literary Excellence:

ex-puritan.ca

Issue 71: Fall 2025

Issue 71: Fall 2025 has arrived! This edition features yet another incredible array of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction representing the best new and established Canadian writing.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Thanks Claire! Definitely one of my weirder poems haha

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Hoping to be able to share some exciting book news in the New Year. Until then I’m still flogging the first collection, and I’ve also added this brand new digital art print featuring the title poem (made by me, no AI) to my Ko-fi shop. UK & international postage available. ko-fi.com/rhysowainwil...

A framed print stands against a concrete wall. The print shows a stylised seascape with a dark blue sky, a white band of cloud and rippling blue water. On the horizon is a simple blue silhouette of a ship. Text in the sky reads: ‘That lone ship on the horizon / arriving or leaving?‘ The book That Lone Ship by Rhys Owain Williams leans against the frame, featuring a dark cover with a blue title and a white ship.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

As you can probably tell from the explanation above, it's a bit niche! But it turned out to be a good fit for Vernacular, who have a submission request of 'the weirder the better.' Cheers to their editors for choosing it!

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

I’ve got a poem in Vernacular’s latest issue: a slasher-inspired prose poem featuring characters from Coronation Street – part of a sequence of poems I'm writing about depictions of stepfathers in fiction. vernacularjournal.com/Richard-Hillman-Drives-Gail-Sarah-Louise-David-and-Little-Baby

vernacularjournal.com

Richard Hillman Drives Gail, Sarah-Louise, David and Little Baby Bethany into the Weatherfield Canal — Vernacular Journal

Richard Hillman Drives Gail, Sarah-Louise, David and Little Baby Bethany into the Weatherfield Canal Rhys Owain Williams It’s almost 9pm on a Wednesday...

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Reposted by Rhys Owain Williams

Nick Land Acknowledgement 🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈 @lonestartallboi.bsky.social · 08/01/2024

20 years ago we were suing teenagers for millions of dollars because they were torrenting a single Metallica album and now billionaires are demanding the free right to every work in history, so that they can re-sell it. The law only ever serves capital.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Lore update: my 3-year-old says Garfield doesn’t love lasagne he loves sushi. It makes more sense I suppose.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Couple of short writing sessions yesterday and today. The middle of the poem as it stands is a complete mess, as I try my best to rework existing lines that I'm fond of but now no longer fit. Need to chuck all the square pegs out at this point I think, understand I'm now working with round holes.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Back on it today though, pulling it apart and trying to put it back together again with minimal rewriting. It's not looking very healthy at the moment. Every reworked line is weaker. My love of the sestina form is weakening too. Might just go binge watch The Osbournes and eat knockoff Oreos instead.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Might not surprise you to learn that they were premature celebrations. Reading over that first draft on Saturday evening, I realised I'd put some end words in the wrong places, knocking the whole poem out. Haven't been able to think about it since, let alone work on it haha.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Best stairwell in Wales (if there is such a thing)

Stairwell with beige tiled walls featuring vertical blue and brown stripes. A wooden handrail with black metal supports runs along the stairs, which are covered in light gray flooring with black stair edges.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Not always productive of course, but I usually at least get *something* down on the page that I can later use/edit/rewrite/turn into something else. This morning it’s a completed first draft of this sestina. Now to celebrate with a turn around the shelves of the Waterstones around the corner!

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Every Saturday morning I go to a coffee shop between 7am–9am and just write. Started at the beginning of this year and it’s been the best thing I’ve done to cultivate the writing routine that I’ve never had but always wanted. Even if I don’t write during the week I have these 2 hours as a baseline.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

As predicted there were doubts reading back what I’d written so far. But cracking on. Still enjoying the form, which is honestly a lovely surprise (as was the childfree afternoon). I often remind myself that when I started writing poetry it was an enjoyable hobby. Good to get back to that feeling.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Surprise writing session on the sestina this afternoon when my MIL came down unannounced to take my son to the park while my other son was at my mother’s. Admit I sat scrolling on my phone for 30 mins first (decompression?) but finally dragged myself to the computer and wrote another stanza.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

I've created six two-column tables in my Google Doc, with reminders of the rotating teleutons in the thin column on the right. Almost three stanzas written now + ideas for the envoi. Need to just ride this sestina wave and see how far it takes me. I'm sure the next writing session will bring doubts!

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Today I love sestinas. Can't get enough. They're now the only form I want to write in. I get like this. Whenever I get around to painting & decorating, I spend the first hour or so thinking 'I should do this for a living!' But by the time I'm tidying up and cleaning brushes I've had my fill.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Second writing session today. I had some spare time to spend on this poem earlier this week, but decided to submit existing poems to magazines instead. And paint a wall in my house that's been prepped but unpainted for too long. Is there such a thing as productive procrastination?

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Mari Ellis Dunning 🖋️ @mariellisdunning.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

The term 'wits' / 'witsh' first appeared in William Salisbury's Welsh-English dictionary in 1547, borrowed from the English 'witch.' Before then, the Welsh didn't really have a word to describe witches. Accusations in Welsh records are full of 'witses' & 'witshes.'

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Is posting about this on Bluesky a form of procrastination? Something to distract me from the actual writing of the poem? Yes, definitely. But (I think) I now have my six repeating end words, and also some lines using them filled in—this feels like good progress!

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Though T.S. Eliot is often quoted as insisting that 'no vers is libre...', free verse is definitely my comfort zone—but I'm determined to spend time writing outside it for this poem. Send good thoughts (and examples of sestinas).

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

But at least I don't have to deal with fixed metre or beat count! Because I've never been able to nail those (all the sonnets and ballads I've written are slightly off and unpublished). And don't even get me started on cynghanedd—what a skill it is to be able to write englynion.

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

First writing session: the journey ahead feels more impossible than possible. Reading examples of the form, each rotating teleuton sends me back to seek its origin, and I feel like the woman in the Nazaré Confusa meme. I wasn't good at maths in school and atm this feels more like maths than poetry.

media.tenor.com

a close up of a woman 's face with a mathematical equation behind her .

ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with a mathematical equation behind her .

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Rhys Owain Williams @rhysowainwilliams.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Beginning my journey with this introduction by Terrance Hayes on the Poetry Foundation, where he calls the form 'a linguistic Jenga puzzle' alongside other vividly-drawn (but daunting) metaphors. www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/159599/your-do-it-yourself-sestina

poetryfoundation.org

Your Do-It-Yourself Sestina

Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.

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