Jo Bell
@jobellwriter.bsky.social
1.2K followers 550 following 150 posts
Poet, digital salonniere. Host of The Poetic Licence (Patreon) - monthly prompts, famous poet interviews, a creative community. Memoir, BOATER out with HarperNorth in summer '25. https://linktr.ee/BoaterJoBell
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Reposted by Jo Bell
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!)
🦋 WELCOME TO BLUESKY! I recommend exploring our custom feeds, which are a little like hashtags but more interesting. We have them for academic and professional subjects, sports, cities, hobbies (e.g., gardening, baking), and many more. Search them in the sidebar under Feeds. 🧵
Reposted by Jo Bell
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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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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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.
Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?
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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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The easiest part of my job is being fighty and mean to powerful people when they are wrong. The hardest part of my job is being constructive and kind to people with less power than me when they are wrong.
Thank YOU and I'm so glad!
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A Black man and a homeless man were found hanging from trees in Mississippi yesterday, for those who haven’t seen yet because it’s barely made it out of local news.
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Today people went around my neighborhood in north east London spray painting St George’s crosses onto people’s homes. Many of these houses have non British people living in them.

This is getting very dark, very quick.
Evidently! Blimey, I'm delighted to hear this. Well done.
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This Monday.
I'll be talking about 'Made in Manchester' at Macclesfield u3a, Monday Sept 15th, 10 for 10.30am, St John the Evangelist church hall, Wilwick Lane. Visitors welcome, no charge.
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London peeps, it is a great great book. Go along and embarrass Luke by telling him how great it is, repeatedly.
Launching Jonah Tonight!
Thank you @abrackenbury.bsky.social, how kind!
AND, quite simply, @jobellwriter.bsky.social 's 'Boater' is laden with hair-raisingly good stories! Highly recommended!
Come and hear me read from Boater (free) in the place where I actually wrote it! See you in Macc on Monday morning?
Mark loves my book. Be like Mark! Thanks so much @marklawrence79.bsky.social
#Booksky

Just finished this brilliant book by @jobellwriter.bsky.social ...I've read a lot of books on the canal network & this has been one of the most enjoyable since I read Rolt's book many years ago. If canals are your thing then I can highly recommend it!
She was indeed part of my soul but now I have Stoic - and Tinker is alive and well with other owners!
Thank you! Lovely to hear this.