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Posts by Dave Kurley

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Luigi: week 2 — Stuff by Dave Kurley Peter in Gorropu Canyon. (pic by José Castorena)

Luigi, week 2: a photo shoot and a couple of days filming on the canyon trail.

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/lu...

#blog #filmdiary #poetry #nonewpoemthisweek #cosimtired

1 day ago 0 0 0 0

'to announce', 'to', for goodness' sake! Why can't we edit, @support.bsky.team?

1 week ago 0 0 0 0
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Dollface — The Poetry Lighthouse Grandma turned back at an unfortunate moment  Dollface, undone frozen in place, unsettling palms - outstretched  Unnatural fingers splayed her unwigged, tabula rasa visage  ...

Very proud and pleased announce that I have a poem, Dollface, in this month's Poetry Lighthouse! Have a read, see what you think!

www.thepoetrylighthouse.com/poems/dollface

#poem #poetry #thepoetrylighthouse #poetryofbluesky #poetsofbluesky

1 week ago 3 0 1 0
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Luigi: Week 2 — Stuff by Dave Kurley ⬆️ L-R: Jana (Véra) and her grandson, Tadeáš, played by Miki. Just out of shot, the rest of us are seated with them around an imaginary campfire at night. Actors, eh? (pic by Adam Struhala) ⬇️ Not ...

Luigi: week 2. Days of rehearsing - and the first day of filming. Wonderful!

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/lu...

#blog #filmdiary #firstdayoffilming

1 week ago 1 0 0 0

It is, mate!

2 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
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Luigi: the 1st diary entry — Stuff by Dave Kurley …after yesterday, flying from Lisbon to Munich to Olbia, the main cast is assembled in Cala Gonone on the east coast of Sardinia for the first full read of the script…

Luigi: the first diary entry. Rehearsals, read-throughs - and, of course, some poetry!

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/lu...

#blog #filmdiary #backinthesaddle #poetry

2 weeks ago 2 0 1 0
Black-and-white graphic of a vintage typewriter seen from above. Torn paper strips sit in the typewriter reading “£1200 RAISED” and “WIN CASH” in bold lettering. Below, the hashtags “#TheBrokenSpineAward” and “#ByPoetsForPoets” are printed. The overall style is gritty, high-contrast, and zine-like.

Black-and-white graphic of a vintage typewriter seen from above. Torn paper strips sit in the typewriter reading “£1200 RAISED” and “WIN CASH” in bold lettering. Below, the hashtags “#TheBrokenSpineAward” and “#ByPoetsForPoets” are printed. The overall style is gritty, high-contrast, and zine-like.

Our prize matters as much as any other poetry prize.
Which is to say: it doesn’t.
But it was built honestly and together — and that’s enough.
#TheBrokenSpineAward #ByPoetsForPoets #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky

2 weeks ago 10 4 0 0
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Lots of news! — Stuff by Dave Kurley I know, I know - I’ve been a bit quiet these last few weeks. So, to sum up:

Bloggage returns: I've had a bit of a break, so this is an omnibus edition - and don't miss the last bit, because there's some amazing news there! www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/lo...
#blog #bignews #poetry #film #unbelievable

3 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
Video

𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣(𝟮) - the new collaborative album from War Child Records - is OUT NOW: https://bit.ly/4re0qCq

Every purchase, stream and share of 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣(𝟮) helps support our work with children facing unimaginable circumstances around the world.

We are so grateful to everyone who helped bring this album to life.

1 month ago 24 21 1 6
Poster introducing the 15 poets whose work will appear in wave twenty-five of online poetry journal iamb.

Poster introducing the 15 poets whose work will appear in wave twenty-five of online poetry journal iamb.

Meet the 15 poets whose work you can read (and hear read) from March 15th 2026 as part of wave twenty-five of @iamb.uk.

#poetry #newpoetry

1 month ago 23 10 1 4
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Unconference! — Stuff by Dave Kurley This will be my first experience of an Unconference, which (I am reliably informed by Jazz) is ‘a conference created by the participants on the day’. The idea is if you have a skill or some knowledge ...

Unconference bloggage: if you're in the Óbidos area on Saturday, come down!
Also in this week's blog, an updated version of a poem I originally wrote back in 2020! It's called Un-, which I felt chimed with the theme of Unconference...

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/un...

#blog #unconference #poetry

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This is the view from our hotel room balcony in Cascais, Portugal, overlooking the beach and harbour. Below is the calçada’d forecourt of the hotel. There are many small boats anchored in the bay and moored in the harbour. You can see right out in the Atlantic. The sky is partially clouded.

This is the view from our hotel room balcony in Cascais, Portugal, overlooking the beach and harbour. Below is the calçada’d forecourt of the hotel. There are many small boats anchored in the bay and moored in the harbour. You can see right out in the Atlantic. The sky is partially clouded.

View from the balcony.

#alisbirthdaytreat #cascais #beautifulportugal

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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New stuff! — Stuff by Dave Kurley …we’re not back on the grid just yet, but our local council have very kindly donated a big red generator to our village so we can have light and heat and internet, which is pretty ace.

Electric bloggage: We have power! Have a look at some new poems to celebrate - www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/new-stuff

#newpoems #poems #poetry #blog #poetrycommunity

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Poets are supposed to write about it — Stuff by Dave Kurley So I did. From the bottom of my strange and crooked heart. The results might not be what you expect, and I’m guessing you would be a little disappointed if I did write stuff you expected. Anyway, clic...

Valentine's bloggage: some poetry from the bottom of my strange and crooked heart.

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/po...

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Why We Created an Anti-Prize: On Poetry Awards, Indie Presses, and the Myth of Prestige - The Broken Spine Poetry prizes are everywhere. So are prize-nominated books, prize-listed poets, and presses (not so) quietly using awards as a marketing strategy. Ugh!

thebrokenspine.co.uk/2026/02/08/w...

2 months ago 11 5 1 0
Odd - a New Literary Journal launching in Mexborough - on 22nd February.

Odd - a New Literary Journal launching in Mexborough - on 22nd February.

Odd - A new literary journal from #SixtyOdd Poets. Those lucky enough to be within striking distance of Mexborough - Come to the launch... Those who are less lucky than that - you will still be able to buy a copy - and maybe even help me to organise a launch near you. #Poetry

2 months ago 6 3 0 0
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Seems legit.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Blown Away (Nearly) — Stuff by Dave Kurley There was a point, maybe ten minutes or so before the storm moved on, when I genuinely thought the roof might lift up and move on with it. Our bedroom is an attic conversion (I have always loved an at...

Storm Kristin and the aftermath - the ultimate in storny bloggage: www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/blown-away

#blog #writing #poem #poetry #stormkristin #poetrycommunity

2 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Open Mic and more — Stuff by Dave Kurley I joined in for the second half and did a couple of poems - I Am Not and San ctuary , both of which seemed to go down pretty well.

Stormy bloggage - I did a couple of poems at the Wordplay Open Mic in Caldas at the weekend - and you can read them on my website!

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/op...

#blog #writing #poetry #openmicnight #wordplay #writersclub

2 months ago 3 0 0 0

Interesting. Maybe related to the idea that in order to be able to paint like Picasso, first you have to learn how to paint.

3 months ago 1 0 1 0

Marvellous thread, Paul. I tend to shy away from traditional poetic structures (sonnets, etc), simply because I find them too restrictive. My writing becomes forced as a result of fitting into the framework. But using alliteration, internal rhyme, assonance, consonance in free verse, and I am flying

3 months ago 2 0 1 0
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New Year, New Stuff! — Stuff by Dave Kurley …I mean, it’s all very well, spending your time sweating over getting the words in the right order on the page - but what about when you have to present it to your friends and peers? Or to a crowd of ...

First blog of the year: January's been a busy month so far...

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/ne...

#blog #writing #wordplaywritersclub #portugal #alllanguageswelcome

3 months ago 3 1 0 0

Well, this is a wonderful surprise! A massive thank you to @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social for including me in this anthology!

#poetry #poems #notadvent #notnewyear #poetrycommunity #blueskypoets

3 months ago 10 3 1 0
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Silence (From "A World Where" 2)

is forbidden. All must talk
in their sleep. Learn

to talk over one another
and listen at the same time.

Any silence means imprisonment.
Babies are encouraged from birth to scream.

Writing is seen as a form of silence
so everything is read aloud,

traffic signs, shopfronts, TV and radio
are talked over the top of all the time.

Songs are sung constantly. There
is no two minute silence as a sign

of respect for the dead. It is disrespectful 
not to talk at the graveside,

And in church, during a sermon
or any speeches. Hecklers are encouraged.

Everyone has a voice that must be heard.
Everyone must listen and respond immediately.

Silence (From "A World Where" 2) is forbidden. All must talk in their sleep. Learn to talk over one another and listen at the same time. Any silence means imprisonment. Babies are encouraged from birth to scream. Writing is seen as a form of silence so everything is read aloud, traffic signs, shopfronts, TV and radio are talked over the top of all the time. Songs are sung constantly. There is no two minute silence as a sign of respect for the dead. It is disrespectful not to talk at the graveside, And in church, during a sermon or any speeches. Hecklers are encouraged. Everyone has a voice that must be heard. Everyone must listen and respond immediately.

For @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk #PoemsAbout #Static

3 months ago 24 8 5 0
Holidays

When I was small, we took our holidays in a static caravan at the coast
I would fall asleep listening to imagined voices in the radio silence
As outside, creatures of the night prowled in a field of static 
The darkness illuminated by the white noise of the North Sea

At dawn, a metal gas canister wheezed as my dad turned on the stove 
to boil a kettle which hissed and whistled to a gradual climax
Tea made with boiled egg water is good for bones and teeth
And blackened toast, thinly spread with margarine, fortifies the blood

Holidays When I was small, we took our holidays in a static caravan at the coast I would fall asleep listening to imagined voices in the radio silence As outside, creatures of the night prowled in a field of static The darkness illuminated by the white noise of the North Sea At dawn, a metal gas canister wheezed as my dad turned on the stove to boil a kettle which hissed and whistled to a gradual climax Tea made with boiled egg water is good for bones and teeth And blackened toast, thinly spread with margarine, fortifies the blood

#PoemsAbout #Static

3 months ago 29 11 11 0
Poem:
Laundered

In the arid, winter-dark
a thousand sparks fly,
looking for a conductor,

any could cause
a conflagration--

infinite possibilities

(to breathe free)

 imagine
if we could

(stop shooting)

wash and rinse
in sun-streams and moon-rivers,

apply a fabric sheet layered with
feathers from a galactic phoenix

to tumble us dry,
to soothe the static,

to leave us scented
with hope as we rise.

Poem: Laundered In the arid, winter-dark a thousand sparks fly, looking for a conductor, any could cause a conflagration-- infinite possibilities (to breathe free) imagine if we could (stop shooting) wash and rinse in sun-streams and moon-rivers, apply a fabric sheet layered with feathers from a galactic phoenix to tumble us dry, to soothe the static, to leave us scented with hope as we rise.

Good morning! It's great to be back to #PoemsAbout #Static.
Thank you to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk .

3 months ago 44 20 15 0
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Happy New Year? — Stuff by Dave Kurley Also, a quick reminder: January 5th 6-8pm at The Hub, Alvaiázere is the inaugural meeting of the new branch of the Wordplay Writers Club. If you fancy a couple of hours of messing about with words (...

Last blog of the year - @zoomburst.substack.com's New Year post is live, with a whole bunch of poems musing on the passage of old into new, including Handover by yours truly!

www.davekurley.net/blogstuff/cl...

#blog #poetry #writers #HNY #poetrycommunity

3 months ago 4 1 0 0
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The Starbeck Orion issue #14 Not Advent Anthology Day 4 of 25 featuring the poetry of Abigail Ottley A Feast of Image And Word

The Starbeck Orion issue #14 Not Advent Anthology Day 4 of 25 featuring the poetry of @abigailottley.bsky.social Abigail Ottley
the880.substack.com/p/the-starbe...

3 months ago 7 2 0 1
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Out With the Old - In With the New Some thoughts to take into the New Year

As we approach New Years Eve, #sixtyodd poets would like to offer you some new year #poetry in Out With The Old - In With The New. And as an added bonus for Mary Pickford fans, there is a New Year photograph of her for you to cut out and keep. (although you will have to print it first)

3 months ago 9 2 0 0
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The Starbeck Orion issue #14 Not Advent Anthology Day 2 of 25 featuring the poetry of Andrew Darlington A Feast Of Word And Image

The Starbeck Orion issue #14 Not Advent Anthology Day 2 of 25 featuring the poetry of Andrew Darlington
the880.substack.com/p/the-starbe...

3 months ago 10 2 1 0