| AO3 collections for VidUKon 2026 |
[Apr. 19th, 2026|06:16 pm] |
If you're premiering a vid at this year's con, we have two unrevealed AO3 collections you can add your vids to:
Premieres collection – for vids premiering in the Premieres show. Will be revealed once the Premiers show is live.
Themed premieres collection – for vids premiering outside of the Premieres show. Will be revealed after the con. |
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| burning in the open field |
[Apr. 18th, 2026|04:52 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | art poems, bodies, identity, life and death, poems in conversation, poetics, sad stories of the death of kings, sea history, the cruelest month, violence, war poetry | ] |
It is not uncommon for me to sit on a poem for years and years before posting it, because I collect poems and only have 30(ish) spots per year. I've had this one in the file for long enough that I have it saved in multiple places, but it never does get less evocative or relevant; it's also fascinating to me how different it is from both his earlier and later poetry, while also using language in such a recognizable way. Is Richard Siken in favor with the internet again? I honestly don't care, but I've always liked his poetry, including back when he was a tumblr fandom darling. This is not really a tumblr fandom poem, but it sticks with me.
( Landscape with a Blur of Conquerors ) |
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| forged by the heart |
[Apr. 16th, 2026|01:19 pm] |
I am posting this in honor of tonight's season finale of The Pitt, because I simply would not be me doing poetry month if I did not draw fandom poetry parallels. I'm a couple of episodes behind, though, so no spoilers. I also just really love the things Jack Gilbert does with language, and although I was initially going to post a different Gilbert poem this year, this one snuck up on me. I love a poem about place.
( Searching for Pittsburgh ) |
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| VidUKon submissions deadline coming up! Plus, our AI policy & workshop signups |
[Apr. 16th, 2026|06:58 pm] |
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Submissions for Vidder's Choice, Premieres and the Themed Vidshow (Unfinished Business) are closing on Sunday, 19 April (23:59 UK time). We'd love to see your vids! Find out more about how to submit yours HERE. If you think you may need an extension, let us know.
Also just a quick note to say our AI policy is now up! We aren't fans of how generative AI, LLMs, agentic AI and related tech is being developed and made available for popular use, and we have good reason to believe that a large part of our regular attendees share our discomfort, hence the policy.
Lastly, sign-ups for the Vidding Workshop close on 20 April. If you'd like to participate in bringing this year's Frankenvid to life, you can find out more about it and sign up HERE. |
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| but yet the body is his book |
[Apr. 14th, 2026|08:30 pm] |
It's my birthday! We went to NASA (Space Center Houston!) because I am 41 and still a space kid at heart. I was thinking about space poems to post (or moon poems, or poems about planets), and that got me to a not-super-surprising metaphysical place and then I thought, "I miss inflicting John Donne on people my birthday." So here is a deeply weird Donne poem that I have not posted before. (I posted "The Sun Rising" in 2008, otherwise you'd obviously be getting that one.) But what is this bonkers poem about, you may ask. The body? Sex? Death? Plato? Soul bonds? Being drift compatible with a possibly dead person while sharing a grave? All of the above, probably. It also has one of my favorite and most quintessentially "this is disgusting, bro, what are you doing" Donne couplets, which is the one about the eye-stalks.
( The Ecstasy ) |
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| planet trouble |
[Apr. 13th, 2026|06:20 pm] |
I post a lot of queer poetry, which should really come as no surprise to anyone. I also buy a lot of poetry books, especially in and around the month of April; when we were in New York last year, I bought Stephanie Burt's 2025 anthology Super Gay Poems, which is really fantastic and highly recommended for both the brilliant essays about each poem and the poems themselves. It also gives me a lot of personal joy because it doesn't have a single poem in it that I've already posted (in 19 years!!), which is so cool and exciting—although there are a handful of poems I've read in the anthology, and several poets I've heard of (or posted other work by), I really love the part of doing this each year where I get to learn and discover new-to-me poems and poets.
Since I skipped yesterday, I am going to indulgently post two poems from the anthology which are completely unrelated, except that they both haunt me (and also both have great enjambment).
( Mermaid )
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( Heart Condition ) |
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| the narrative burden of events |
[Apr. 10th, 2026|12:46 pm] |
Fady Joudah is a Houston-based poet (and doctor) who I first learned about through his translations of Mahmoud Darwish—one of which I may post later in the month—and then because Brazos Bookstore, one of our favorite independent bookstores in town, always tries to highlight local authors. I picked up a copy of Joudah's 2024 poetry collection last year and was thinking about posting a couple of different poems, but then I read this earlier one on Poetry Foundation and couldn't stop thinking about it, so here we are. Still on the subject of the moon, sort of.
( Moon Grass Rain ) |
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