Sarah O'Connor
@sarahocwrites.bsky.social
Writer, Poet, Theatre goer, Music lover, Irishwoman abroad she/her
http://linktr.ee/SarahOCwrites
http://linktr.ee/SarahOCwrites
Pinned
Sarah O'Connor
@sarahocwrites.bsky.social
· Jan 29
Spread the Word and @cripticarts.bsky.social are delighted to share the long and shortlist for the 2025 #DisabledPoetsPrize.
✨The prize aims to nurture, encourage and celebrate the talents and successes of deaf & disabled poets✨
Read the announcement 👉 www.spreadtheword.org.uk/announcing-t...
✨The prize aims to nurture, encourage and celebrate the talents and successes of deaf & disabled poets✨
Read the announcement 👉 www.spreadtheword.org.uk/announcing-t...
I'm thrilled to see my name on the pamphlet prize shortlist. Thank you @cripticarts.bsky.social @spread-the-word.bsky.social for seeing something in my work 🙏📚💙
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
My friends at Poetry at Leeds University have opened the Brotherton Prize up for submissions; it's open to anyone in the world over the age of 18 who hasn't yet published a full collection of poems. Full deets &c here: poetry.leeds.ac.uk/brotherton-p...
Brotherton Poetry Prize | Poetry@Leeds
poetry.leeds.ac.uk
January 28, 2026 at 6:53 PM
My friends at Poetry at Leeds University have opened the Brotherton Prize up for submissions; it's open to anyone in the world over the age of 18 who hasn't yet published a full collection of poems. Full deets &c here: poetry.leeds.ac.uk/brotherton-p...
I didn't realise I needed to read this article today but I did 🙏❤️
"The biggest myth we are fed as artists is that we need to sustain ourselves solely on our art. This is ridiculous. Every artist has at some point in time had some other job. Some of them kept these jobs their entire lives." - Sara Benincasa
sarajbenincasa.medium.com/real-artists...
sarajbenincasa.medium.com/real-artists...
Real Artists Have Day Jobs
Your job is just your side gig.
sarajbenincasa.medium.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:52 PM
I didn't realise I needed to read this article today but I did 🙏❤️
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
I read this cover to cover today and it is just as beautiful, present & moving as I thought from Natalie's reading. Full of life and language and craft ❤️📚💙
My first full collection, 'The Point Is You Are Alive' is now available to pre order from Broken Sleep Books @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social . Publication date is 30th April.
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
Natalie Whittaker - The Point Is You Are Alive | Broken Sleep Books
Natalie Whittaker’s The Point Is You Are Alive is an intricate and unflinching meditation on loss, memory, and survival. Moving between intimate recollection and sharp social observation, Whittaker’s ...
www.brokensleepbooks.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I read this cover to cover today and it is just as beautiful, present & moving as I thought from Natalie's reading. Full of life and language and craft ❤️📚💙
Tonight I heard Natalie read from this & it was wonderful. Really looking forward to reading the whole book ❤️🙌
My first full collection, 'The Point Is You Are Alive' is now available to pre order from Broken Sleep Books @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social . Publication date is 30th April.
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...
Natalie Whittaker - The Point Is You Are Alive | Broken Sleep Books
Natalie Whittaker’s The Point Is You Are Alive is an intricate and unflinching meditation on loss, memory, and survival. Moving between intimate recollection and sharp social observation, Whittaker’s ...
www.brokensleepbooks.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Tonight I heard Natalie read from this & it was wonderful. Really looking forward to reading the whole book ❤️🙌
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Sonnet for Perimenopause – Victoria Spires @victoriaspires.bsky.social
atriumpoetry.com/2025/10/03/s...
atriumpoetry.com/2025/10/03/s...
Sonnet for Perimenopause – Victoria Spires
Sonnet for Perimenopause . . Victoria Spires is published in Berlin Lit & The London Magazine. She has been commended/shortlisted in: Ledbury, TPW Prize, Aesthetica Arts, Artemesia Arts, Plough…
atriumpoetry.com
October 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Sonnet for Perimenopause – Victoria Spires @victoriaspires.bsky.social
atriumpoetry.com/2025/10/03/s...
atriumpoetry.com/2025/10/03/s...
A reminder of what can happen when politicians are led by policy not popularity 🙏🙌
October 1, 2025 at 6:34 AM
A reminder of what can happen when politicians are led by policy not popularity 🙏🙌
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
this is an extraordinary canary in the coal mine
Nathan Gill, Reform's leader in Wales at the last Welsh parliament election, has pled guilty to 8 bribery charges, taking Russian cash while he was one of Nigel Farage’s MEPs to speak in favour of Putin's Russia in that parliament
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reform UK’s ex-leader in Wales Nathan Gill pleads guilty to bribery charges
Gill admits to eight counts of bribery relating to pro-Russia statements made in the European parliament and articles
www.theguardian.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:15 PM
this is an extraordinary canary in the coal mine
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Go on, stick yer name on.
In the past hour or two signatures on this have nearly doubled.
It’s almost as if nobody wants a compulsory for all form of ID which will erode civil liberty and solve nothing.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
It’s almost as if nobody wants a compulsory for all form of ID which will erode civil liberty and solve nothing.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards
We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
petition.parliament.uk
September 25, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Go on, stick yer name on.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
I love London so much. So much.
Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?
Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.
Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?
Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.
September 17, 2025 at 7:50 AM
I love London so much. So much.
Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?
Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.
Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?
Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Please read this timely and excellent opinion piece by our @irishpen.bsky.social Board member @cauverymadhavan.bsky.social Cauvery Madhavan.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When I left India, Ireland welcomed me in. I won’t let bigotry destroy the country we love | Cauvery Madhavan
People from the Indian community, and others, are facing violence that was once unthinkable. We must not give in to the racists, says novelist Cauvery Madhavan
www.theguardian.com
September 8, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Please read this timely and excellent opinion piece by our @irishpen.bsky.social Board member @cauverymadhavan.bsky.social Cauvery Madhavan.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
So utterly sick of politicians saying the most unfathomably cruel things because they want to be treated like a celebrity with controversial opinions and not a public servant, which is what they are elected to be.
September 3, 2025 at 6:22 AM
So utterly sick of politicians saying the most unfathomably cruel things because they want to be treated like a celebrity with controversial opinions and not a public servant, which is what they are elected to be.
So my final stack for #TheSealeyChallenge I got to 23 rather than 31 but given the number of collections & a few languages scattered through I'm more than happy. Some excellent writers discovered & the realisation there are loads of pockets of time in my day for #MorePoems #SealeyChallenge #Booksky
August 31, 2025 at 8:59 PM
So my final stack for #TheSealeyChallenge I got to 23 rather than 31 but given the number of collections & a few languages scattered through I'm more than happy. Some excellent writers discovered & the realisation there are loads of pockets of time in my day for #MorePoems #SealeyChallenge #Booksky
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
"Could the rain-carried pain be my banshee's caoineadh,
soothing my homesickness in its own morbid way?"
#TodaysPoem #poetry
I can't reach the greengage and my tomatoes are blight-ridden. by Sarah O’Connor (@sarahocwrites.bsky.social) (2024 @anthro-poetry.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/yc64ha8h
soothing my homesickness in its own morbid way?"
#TodaysPoem #poetry
I can't reach the greengage and my tomatoes are blight-ridden. by Sarah O’Connor (@sarahocwrites.bsky.social) (2024 @anthro-poetry.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/yc64ha8h
2 poems by Sarah O’Connor
After the funeralyou set the tablefor one place less. Not waitingto be asked, for once.You take down a bottle of regret,pop the cork, and pourus all a glass.Deep draughts keep us eachafloat, or some s...
tinyurl.com
August 30, 2025 at 1:22 PM
"Could the rain-carried pain be my banshee's caoineadh,
soothing my homesickness in its own morbid way?"
#TodaysPoem #poetry
I can't reach the greengage and my tomatoes are blight-ridden. by Sarah O’Connor (@sarahocwrites.bsky.social) (2024 @anthro-poetry.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/yc64ha8h
soothing my homesickness in its own morbid way?"
#TodaysPoem #poetry
I can't reach the greengage and my tomatoes are blight-ridden. by Sarah O’Connor (@sarahocwrites.bsky.social) (2024 @anthro-poetry.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/yc64ha8h
My favourite book of 2024 now available as audio 📚🎧🙌❤️
GOODLORD the audiobook out now with Rough Trade Books 💫 get it here (or wherever you normally get your audiobooks) roughtradebooks.bandcamp.com/album/goodlo...
August 30, 2025 at 1:16 PM
My favourite book of 2024 now available as audio 📚🎧🙌❤️
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
The Quakers are doing exactly what all public services are legally allowed to do even if the EHRC wants to pretend they're not: say gender-based toilets are inclusive and for anyone bothered by that as a matter of belief, there are stand-alone cubicles that they are very free to use. 1/
This, from the Quakers, is a pretty good example of how to resist pressure from bigot lobbying groups. Effectively “we legally can allow trans people to use the loo, we morally should, and we tried it and nothing bad happened”
www.quaker.org.uk
August 28, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The Quakers are doing exactly what all public services are legally allowed to do even if the EHRC wants to pretend they're not: say gender-based toilets are inclusive and for anyone bothered by that as a matter of belief, there are stand-alone cubicles that they are very free to use. 1/
@lesfugitivespress.bsky.social + poetry 🤩 = Colour me excited 🤗
Our first book of poetry comes out tomorrow. a grammar of the world by Jeanne Benameur translated by Bill Johnston. The perfect book for the end of summer and the end of Women in Translation month.
August 28, 2025 at 4:28 PM
@lesfugitivespress.bsky.social + poetry 🤩 = Colour me excited 🤗
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Advanced capitalism has exhausted us. We can only see the “labour” in “labour of love”. Instead of a lessening of burdens, we’re being offered a tool to remove that labour. But this labour is synonymous with the love. This work is the work of being alive. Don’t settle for outsourcing your life.
indulged in a little “old man yells at cloud” ranting in the guardian today www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
ChatGPT has its uses, but I still hate it – and I’ll tell you why | Imogen West-Knights
It’s bad for the planet and could make many jobs – including mine – obsolete. But my loathing runs deeper than that, says writer Imogen West-Knights
www.theguardian.com
August 28, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Advanced capitalism has exhausted us. We can only see the “labour” in “labour of love”. Instead of a lessening of burdens, we’re being offered a tool to remove that labour. But this labour is synonymous with the love. This work is the work of being alive. Don’t settle for outsourcing your life.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
"People do not want the messy, uncomfortable truth that disabled people know—that we are all only one infection or accident away from disability. That disability is not a choice, but a natural variation of existence."
Every single word.
Why do editors keep getting taken in? Because they want to.
Every single word.
Why do editors keep getting taken in? Because they want to.
I keep getting asked for my salty thoughts about the Salt Path as my position on nature cure narratives is v clear! A mere fraction of those thoughts published here @literaryhub.bsky.social, with thanks to @bookwormvaught.bsky.social and @nicwilson.bsky.social for their earlier pieces linked below.
Nature is Not Going to Cure You: On Raynor Winn’s Fabricated Memoir
Like many writers, I have been following the unfolding revelations about Raynor Winn and The Salt Path with great interest, and a degree of self-interest. I am a memoirist and nature writer, and I …
lithub.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"People do not want the messy, uncomfortable truth that disabled people know—that we are all only one infection or accident away from disability. That disability is not a choice, but a natural variation of existence."
Every single word.
Why do editors keep getting taken in? Because they want to.
Every single word.
Why do editors keep getting taken in? Because they want to.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Migrants didn't cut council funding. Migrants didn't cut NHS funding. Migrants didn't close youth centres. Migrants didn't sell off council houses. Migrants aren't filling our rivers with sewage.
Farage and co. will tell you to point the finger at migrants.
Don't fall for it.
Farage and co. will tell you to point the finger at migrants.
Don't fall for it.
August 26, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Migrants didn't cut council funding. Migrants didn't cut NHS funding. Migrants didn't close youth centres. Migrants didn't sell off council houses. Migrants aren't filling our rivers with sewage.
Farage and co. will tell you to point the finger at migrants.
Don't fall for it.
Farage and co. will tell you to point the finger at migrants.
Don't fall for it.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Now that’s a cover.
Jolene (Bardcore | Medieval Style)
YouTube video by Hildegard von Blingin'
youtu.be
August 20, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Now that’s a cover.
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
Channel 4 News – full segment on DecodeME results (9 mins) — the world’s largest genetic study of #MECFS — identifies eight genetic differences. Includes interviews with Prof Chris Ponting, a patient participant, Sonia Chowdhury, and MP Tessa Munt.
youtu.be/c5i_K3QEbCI?...
youtu.be/c5i_K3QEbCI?...
Channel 4 News DecodeME results
YouTube video by Broken Battery
youtu.be
August 7, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Channel 4 News – full segment on DecodeME results (9 mins) — the world’s largest genetic study of #MECFS — identifies eight genetic differences. Includes interviews with Prof Chris Ponting, a patient participant, Sonia Chowdhury, and MP Tessa Munt.
youtu.be/c5i_K3QEbCI?...
youtu.be/c5i_K3QEbCI?...
In a fit of over enthusiasm I've decided to take on the #SealeyChallenge this month! One book in and what a heartbreakingly beautiful, crafted collection this is ❤️📚💙
August 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
In a fit of over enthusiasm I've decided to take on the #SealeyChallenge this month! One book in and what a heartbreakingly beautiful, crafted collection this is ❤️📚💙
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
I've made a new list on @bookshop.org of books that explore nature / walking / the outdoors by disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill writers - Nature Beyond Cure - aka our own narratives are messy and complex. Do share! #BookSky #DisabledWriters
uk.bookshop.org/lists/nature...?
uk.bookshop.org/lists/nature...?
Nature Beyond Cure: Disabled Perspectives
Books that explore nature and living with disability and illness from disability perspectives. No magical cures here!
uk.bookshop.org
July 6, 2025 at 11:59 AM
I've made a new list on @bookshop.org of books that explore nature / walking / the outdoors by disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill writers - Nature Beyond Cure - aka our own narratives are messy and complex. Do share! #BookSky #DisabledWriters
uk.bookshop.org/lists/nature...?
uk.bookshop.org/lists/nature...?
Reposted by Sarah O'Connor
‘Many of Kneecap’s international fans, before listening to them, hadn’t realised that the Irish language exists at all – and that far from a dialect of English, it has roughly the same lexical distance from it as Russian.’
@naoisedolan.bsky.social on the blog:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...
@naoisedolan.bsky.social on the blog:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...
Naoise Dolan | Take these yokes
An Anglo-American audience is a mixed blessing for an Irish artist. Pro: you get their money. Con: their opinions, too....
www.lrb.co.uk
July 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
‘Many of Kneecap’s international fans, before listening to them, hadn’t realised that the Irish language exists at all – and that far from a dialect of English, it has roughly the same lexical distance from it as Russian.’
@naoisedolan.bsky.social on the blog:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...
@naoisedolan.bsky.social on the blog:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...