Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alan Parry He/Him

@alanparrywriter.co.uk

3.9K followers 2.5K following 4K posts

Independent Writer Spoken-Word Artist EiC @thebrokenspine.co.uk Workshop Facilitator Podcast & Events Host Lecturer in SEND #PromoteIndieLit https://shorturl.at/gxRbM

shorturl.at

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · May 24

My debut novella #PeelingApples is out now with @darkwinterlitmag.bsky.social
A tender, unflinching bildungsroman tracing boyhood, loss, and becoming—
Order your copy: amzn.eu/d/angSgVq
I’d love to hear what it stirs in you.

Cover of Peeling Apples by Alan Parry. The title is handwritten in black on a textured pale blue background, partially torn to reveal layered photographs underneath. Images include red apples on a wooden board, a cracked mug holding a cactus, a netted bowl of marbles on a lace doily, and a vintage photo of a young boy holding a football. The author’s name appears at the bottom in the same handwritten font.

6 38 96

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 8h

Love this recent playlist I made...

#Dance&Drink&Screw

open.spotify.com/playlist/3zm...

💜Dance&Drink&Screw💜

open.spotify.com

2 1 8

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 9h

Much love x

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 9h

Thank you. Paul and other #PoemsAbout folk are good people!

1 1

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Carolyn Thomas @carolynthomas.bsky.social · 12h

A #LifttotheSky for this amazing collection of sonnets by the brilliant Paul Brookes @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social who contributes so much to the #poetrycommunity. Published in 2022, but new to me, it explores myth and legend with grace and wit
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk

2 7 13

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Carolyn Thomas @carolynthomas.bsky.social · 12h

A #LifttotheSky for this powerful new collection by the splendid Merril D Smith @merrildsmith.bsky.social
#poetrycommunity
Characteristically beautiful and evocative writing, honest and deeply moving, it also includes many of her wonderful photographs @alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk

2 11 16

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Carolyn Thomas @carolynthomas.bsky.social · 12h

My #LifttotheSky today goes to Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social who writes powerful poetry, makes a great contribution to the #poetrycommunity
and, through her posts, ensures our attention is drawn to things that cry out for action
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk

2 5 9

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 11h

#LiftToTheSky I’d like you to know that this wonderful community of poemsabout and The Broken Spine have been an incredible source of motivation for me in my writing journey and am ever so thankful to you. Your energy and dedication in making this space vibrant is truly appreciated. I… 1/2

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

This is me right now.

The Broken Spine @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 1d

You usually have to be signed up to our newsletter to read it. However, this week is too important, and I wanted to share it more broadly.

preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5022...

1 9 30

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 19h

Pics from a walk this afternoon. Heading out for another hour or so now. I have managed to sort some long-standing Broken Spine issues out and get a MS ready for publication today.

Southport Rugby Club pitch with white goalposts standing tall on green grass, bordered by red brick walls and suburban houses under a grey sky.

Tree-lined pavement in Southport on an overcast autumn day, with golden leaves scattered across the footpath beside a red brick wall and passing traffic.

2 15

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

This is me right now.

The Broken Spine @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 1d

You usually have to be signed up to our newsletter to read it. However, this week is too important, and I wanted to share it more broadly.

preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5022...

Thank You — and Some Honesty

preview.mailerlite.io

16 6 36

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

There’s such depth in these — language pulled from the mire & made luminous. Thoughtful, raw, and utterly human. Precisely why this prompt series exists. Thanks for sharing! #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 2

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Karen Keefe @greenkari.bsky.social · 1d

My husband, Robert Guzikowski, has aphasia. These poems are from his book, Unwordly, published by UnCollected Press. #PoemsAbout#ImperfectMe

1 3 9

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

A manifesto in miniature — clear, compassionate, and necessary. “Lift the mask worn by the apparently whole” feels both invitation & command. #KeepWriting
#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 2

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Kristin Houlihan, Writer @kristinwrites.bsky.social · 2d

Late post for #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

@thebrokenspine.co.uk
@alanparrywriter.co.uk

From my book, Lift the Mask, and the piece its title was taken from (this is a photo of the page from the paperback)

#Ubiquity

Normalize the
#ubiquity of brokenness.
Enlighten all to the
universality of struggle.
Lift the mask worn
by the apparently whole.
Each broken soul
will then find solace
in knowing it's
not alone.

5 7 44

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘i float behind like a deflating balloon’ You capture invisibility tenderly, the pain of being half-seen, half tethered.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 1

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 2d

Am I late for #poemsabout? Perfect.
#ImperfectMe
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
@alanparrywriter.co.uk

dog walking

the man crouches down to stroke my dog
i float behind like a deflating balloon
tethered to a child

their exchange is silent
and so personal
that i feel the need to look away

the man stands up
eyeing the balloon properly for the first time
then walks away as if confused by its presence

7 3 22

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘the endless fray of being me’ — that closing line is so strong. You capture loneliness without ornament, a plea stitched to survival.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 1 1

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Rebekah 💙🏳️‍🌈 @rteller.bsky.social · 1d

Here's my offering for #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk

Twelve

Sometimes I feel
I don't belong
And being here
Just feels so wrong.
From deep inside
A quiet moan.
And all I want
Is to go home.

I get nervous.
I don't know why,
And all I seem
to do is cry.
It's dark and wet
And hard and old.
And all I do
Is what I'm told.

The world is there.
It's big and bright.
But all I see
Is empty night.
Nightmares and fear
And evil queens
Are all I have
In place of dreams.

But someday soon,
I don't know when,
This misery
Will find an end.
Can someone please
Help me relieve
The endless fray
Of being me?

7 5 23

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘a cane, an absence, and a shared heart’ Strange and brilliant. You balance humour with pain, the oddness of symmetry made true.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 2

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 1d

#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
Having just encouraged another poet to double dip and being triggered in a good way by a line in another poem, I’d like to double dip with this short piece I wrote in 2021 after seeing a man with a cane walking a dog with three legs.

OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM

Three-legged man walks
three-legged dog;
a cane, an absence, and a shared heart.

Third wheel in three-legged races,
odd in games of evens; spacewalker
pounding Cupola windows.

Grabbing Gorilla Glue
to fix a three-legged stool,
putting small stock in the bond.

3 3 24

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘the burnt sugar and blood kind of stuff’ You blend the domestic with the existential, every stir of the bowl thick with memory & cost.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 1

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

stace.bot @stacebot.bsky.social · 2d

the truth is. i've already posted #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe this week. but i guess i just can't stop thinking about it. thanks a lot @alanparrywriter.co.uk and all of the ridiculously talented writers. @thebrokenspine.co.uk

sorry for being greedy and drafty and posting twice.

stace.bot @stacebot.bsky.social · 2d

a field guide for biochemical exhaustion
is inspired by

#fatigued
#Emoetry
@fafo-poets-society.bsky.social
@mwplovesmusic.bsky.social

#oeuvre
@poetickunal.bsky.social
#BlueSkyRelay @blueskyrelay.bsky.social

a field guide for biochemical exhaustion

i stir the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies
in a bowl with my hands, as if kneading back
the accumulation of everything—
all the imperfect selves, the murmurs and mirrors,
ink ghosts on the flyleaves of books
i haven’t thought about in ages.

the body, like cellular layers—
stacks of drafts.
it’s like i’m searching for a word
some professor once told me
how to pronounce with an accent: oeuvre.

i add more chips to the bowl.
it’s an after-word word that i’m after,
the one you use when you’re looking back
at what you’ve made—
the burnt sugar and blood kind of stuff,
and what it cost.

11 8 28

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘Not AI generated, far from it’ That bites with pride. You remind us what real mess feels like: the spill, the slur, the beautiful human glitch.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

Francis H Powell writer and poet @fhpowellwriter.bsky.social · 2d

#PoemsAbout #imperfectMe
@paulwritespoems.bsky.social

@alanparrywriter.co.uk

@thebrokenspine.co.uk

4 3 14

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 1d

‘the table of contents a puzzle’ That’s a gorgeous self-portrait. You give autobiography texture, each stanza turning the page on forgiveness.
#KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

1 1

Reposted by Alan Parry He/Him

sheilaeh.bsky.social @sheilaeh.bsky.social · 2d

#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

2 5 26