P.S. Also, please let me know if you'd like to see more videos like this on this platform...ta!

Eyup! I recorded this for TikTok, but I thought I'd may as well share it on here. This is one of my favourite poetry writing exercises. It's targeted at teens upwards.

If you have a go, I'd love to see some of your favourite lines in the comments ✍️🏻

'Powerful' young poets imagine a greener future YOUNG poets shared their views on nature, wildlife and recycling at a showcase held at AESSEAL’s Rotherham headquarters.

Nice to see this news piece about our recent eco-poetry project with poets @mattabbottpoet.com & Cassandra Parkin, schools in Rotherham and green engineering firm AESSEAL!

www.rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/people/...

Available to read now via The Day Job. The paid plan costs £5 per month or £50 annually, and there's a reward scheme for subscribers who refer friends.

Submitting your collection to publishers Essay #8 in the series on creating & publishing a poetry collection

🆕️ 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗞

Essay #8 in my monthly series on writing and publishing a poetry collection. This time, I talk through the process of submitting your manuscript to prospective publishers: a crucial milestone!

A massive bag full of books at New Pudsey station can only mean one thing... school visit in London!!

🚇➡️ Wimbledon Park Primary School

Behind the curtain: my poem in Magma 94 The story and editorial process behind the poem, plus a video recording

🆕️ 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗞

I thought it'd be useful to provide a 'behind the curtains' glimpse at the editorial journey behind my new poem. It's tricky to go into too much detail with your general editorial process because every poem is so different, so hopefully, this post will be of some use.

We're thrilled to announce our latest issue, Magma 94 'Remix' is now published!
Editors @cloudscholar.bsky.social, Lola Oh and ‪@williekinard.com said the poems they received "astounded, challenged, and delighted us"

Get your hands on a copy here:
magmapoetry.com/archive/magm...

Magma 94 - Magma Poetry Magma 94, Remix, Edited by Elontra Hall, Willie Lee Kinard III, and Lola Oh To remix is to take something existing and make it new. To peer through the same weary eyes, and imagine a different, radica...

Magma 94 is on sale now:
magmapoetry.com/archive/magm...

This poem is about a very real workshop that I delivered. I'll never forget her face when she started reminiscing about the Gaza she knew, and then going to the staff room and seeing the latest wave of destruction on my phone.

Solidarity to anybody who's fighting the cause in however they can 🕊🍉

Obviously, what then happened in the middle of autumn 2023 carries an awful lot of significance in the world. It still melts my brain on a daily basis what's being normalised, justified, ignored, or covered up.

Huge thanks to @magmapoetry.bsky.social for publishing this poem in their latest issue — 'Magma 94: The Remix'. I've been submitting to lit mags, journals, etc., since the beginning of autumn 2023, and this was my first acceptance.

Hugo Williams and the French Riviera Reflecting on some international school visits, plus some bespoke writing prompts

🆕️ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸

• A few thoughts from 🇲🇨 & 🇫🇷.
• Viewing your poetry through an international lens.
• Adapting your poetry (or not) for audiences who aren't local.
• 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬: bespoke prompts in response to three Hugo Williams poems.

mattabbottpoet.substack.com/p/hugo-willi...

Loved this! Some cracking lines in there.

Also, my son loved the session you did at his school. It got a rare two thumbs up (this is the highest possible praise).

Ah, cheers, Luke! And that's ace to hear — which school was it?

Performing my poem 'Lost, Somewhere Between' at Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds back in February.

🎥 by Natasha Dobson
(NJD Photography)

Poet Matt Abbott speaks to an audience of school students int he AESSEAL factory.

Poet Nathan performs a poem in front of a blue Poetry Society banner.

Pupils look at the pond on the AESSEAL tree walk, with a sign in the foreground saying Wetlands Wildlife with illustrations of plants and animals.

A hand holds an orange bookmark saying The Poetry Society in front of a sign illustrated with families enjoying Rotherham, with a tent labelled Made in Rotherham in the background.

Well done to all the young poets who wowed us with their poems on climate change at today's Imagining a Greener Future poetry showcase in Rotherham!

Thank you to project partner AESSEAL, the 5 local schools who took part, host @mattabbottpoet.com & #FoyleYoungPoet and guest reader Nathan Graham.

Off to see @bunnymen.com in Leeds for my old man's 65th! I fell in love with these through Donnie Darko, way back in 6th Form. Can't wait 🎶

There are definitely mitigating factors. Not clocking the screen, City's teamtalk through fake injury in the reverse fixture, a general tendency to boo everything opposing (including the PL anthem!)

It's likely more a general siege mentality for many. But undoubtedly fuelled by sinister elements.

Yeah, there's undoubtedly a wider societal problem that simply manifests itself at Elland Road. On the other hand, this is also a fanbase that boos the Premier League anthem. But it's still shameful, and there's no doubt that plenty were openly and happily booing Ramadan.

That herd mentality is lethal. Any sense of individual accountability totally vanishes. I also think, particularly in the South Stand, the most offensive or distasteful option is the most popular. 'Dirty Leeds' + cheap coke & Dark Fruits. Hence the bizarre Jimmy Savile stuff...

We're capable of producing the best atmosphere in the UK. Our tiny South Stand is often louder than most stadiums. But this element of the fanbase makes me sick.

Last season's Solomon debacle marked my lowest point as a Leeds fan, in terms of feeling totally ostracised from my own lifelong tribe.

FWIW, many #lufc are fans deeply ashamed by the last night's booing. I totally get "We are Leeds, we are vile" as a deeply entrenched anti-establishment mindset, and I do believe Pep using the drinks break for a team talk fuelled the majority of boos, but it's still shameful. Not a good look at all.

Yep, there may be mitigating factors, but the booing hardly ceased when the message appeared on the screen. It's shameful, and I hope both the club and platforms like @thesquareball.net have the guts to properly address it.

I do believe this is the case to some extent, particularly with how this impacted the reverse fixture in November (with Donnarumma's fake injury). However, it's impossible to deny that there's also a significant amount of (at best) anti-woke sentiment and (at worst) rampant Islamophobia. Shameful.

Check out our latest Substack post for listen back links for our Jan & Feb episodes, plus content related to our round-ups and recommendations!

roaring20sradio.substack.com/p/episodes-5...

Discoveries and development from 2025 Career developments, cultural exchange, and general thoughts at the close of the year

🆕️ My latest post on Substack is a mix of career development, cultural exchange, and general thoughts at the close of 2025.

It's free for everybody to read, so please share it if you like it!

mattabbottpoet.substack.com/p/discoverie...

The Mayor’s Script Diversity Programme for Screen Yorkshire Matt Abbott was one of the cohort for The Mayor’s Script Diversity Programme via Screen Yorkshire.

Last night saw the celebration event for the second instalment of the Mayor’s Script Diversity Programme through Screen Yorkshire. I was buzzing to be a part of the cohort, which included 10 writers who are all established outside of screenwriting.

Soul Shed at WX Wakefield on 6 Dec Matt Abbott is performing as part of Soul Shed at WX Wakefield on Saturday 6 December 2025.

Soul Shed at WX Wakefield on 6 Dec

Matt Abbott is performing as part of Soul Shed at WX Wakefield on Saturday 6 December 2025.

At the crossroads of a poem’s first draft stage Earlier this week, I dug myself a hole that every poet will have found themselves in at least a handful of times.

This week's essay is a candid insight into how you might approach the crossroads of a poem's first draft stage. Because, more often than not, first drafts aren't under-polished — they're under𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥.

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