a grace of gathered bushels

poetry film premiere, new book release, monthly writing competition

seeds of hope swell to straws, caramel brimming from wheat fields. a little girl’s ruby song floats like petals on a breeze. the sweat of harvest, a grace of gathered bushels. in these humble needs, we are stripped of artifice. truth stirs in our bellies, sings in the reeds, calls to us in the sweet vernacular of summer’s fruit. Saraswati Nagpal

last week, driving from the west coast to the south of India in the harvest season took me past moving portraits of humans bonding with the land. tractors, carts and even motorbikes overflowed with fresh cut crops, and long stretches of road were covered in grains spread on tarpaulin to dry in the sun. too often we take for granted the benevolence of earth, of sky and rain, of toiling farmers.

across cultures, folklore and myth craft in metaphor and ritual our relationship with what nourishes us. with these thoughts today, we are delighted to bring to you the official premier of “Alban Arthan” a poetry film by Scottish poet and film maker, Barry Hollow. we fell in love with this moving juxtaposition of powerful poetic lines and the evocative tapestry of film bathing us in nature’s cycles. Alban Arthan is a Druid and Celtic festival which celebrates the Winter Solstice. in early Scottish and broader Celtic culture, Alban Arthan symbolised death and rebirth in nature. enjoy Barry’s film here…

the abundance of summer brings more poetry - huge congratulations to our remarkable contributing editor, Victoria Spires on her debut poetry collection, Soi Même (Salo Press). we are so excited to share reviews of this exquisite collection from Wendy Allen and our EIC Jai Michelle. it is available for pre-order here.

You study my hand, the small

doeskin glove of it, freshly alum-

tawed & laid out

for staking, your thumb

already pressing

a warning to the watchful

rabbit-pulsing at my wrist

excerpt from On Surrender

There is elasticity in these poems – a sense of time-travel / Jeanette Winterson / liberation – This collection celebrates the ‘I’ and it is the ‘I’ who navigates us through poetry of juxtaposition and beautiful uncertainty. It is testament to Spires’ control as a poet to leave the reader at such a tender intersection of what is being revealed, and I fell in love with the wholly unreliable ‘I’ of the narration. A masterpiece in why poetry remains vital in contemporary culture. – Wendy Allen

Soi-meme beckons the reader through a folio of memory with a narrative of submission and desire towards the “joy in the un- of things” a rediscovery of oneself in a wholly new form. In this collection, Spires’ intellect and precision is a feat and a thrill “hunger is a learned behaviour” and the reader is drawn to contemplate  “we are all just ideas someone else had”  “the myths of yourselves” that perception is not always a clear bright lens, that in remembering and in the living of these scenes we can be liberated. We are given access to that within these pages that linger long after the last light is switched off. – Jai Michelle Louissen

And for those of you writing and threading nature in your work, we at the winged moon are offering a three week workshop series ‘SELF AND UN-SELF - UNCOVERING BIOPHILIA beginning in late May, we are open for bookings over on our website and we’d love you to come over and have a read here.

the winged muse monthly competition

in the flavour of all that grows, we have a new visual prompt for May’s monthly writing competition, the winged muse. published in our Hinterland issue, this month’s prompt is collage art by Amsterdam-based artist, illustrator and visual designer Jenny Lloyd, titled “From Dark Seeds"

Jenny Lloyd, From Dark Seeds

submissions for this month’s competition opens today! (submissions are free!)

here are the guidelines:

· write a piece in response to this image, it can be poetry, prose or micro fiction

· the poetry should be no more than 30 lines, the prose and micro fiction no more than 300 words

· please send us your writing to thewingedmoonmagazine@gmail.com along with your social media handles (if any)

· submissions are open until May 21

· we will announce our winners on Instagram and publish a curated micro magazine on May 28, here on substack

· the overall winner each month will be given a paid subscription to The Winged Moon substack for three months

· please do not share your writing until after the winners have been announced

we warmly invite you all to send in your carefully crafted work if the muse calls to speak through you. we can’t wait to read it! you can read the winning pieces from last month’s competition here.

thank you for sharing in our joy each week. we very much appreciate journeying with you, dear readers. until next time…

Saraswati & Jai Michelle

read about our featured poet here:

Barry Hollow is a Poet and Poetry Filmmaker from Scotland, who now lives in Bristol. His collection - Viaducts & River Views - was published with Black Cat Poetry Press. His second collection will be published in early 2026. His Poetry Films have screened at The Millenium Film Workshop in New York, StAnza, Drumshanbo and REEL Poetry Festivals, among others. Barry has been widely anthologised and has featured regularly on BBC Radio and spoken word events across the UK.