a large wave rising

new writing, workshops and SUBS LIST

the hills purr citrus colours over the morning. we listen like the sun, enveloping what roots and stalks in us. the outer layers of our past exfoliated in the blurring fields of hyacinth. oh how we long and linger. a bee kisses my lips like a large wave. musk of a thousand blossomed wood unabating. there is nothing else now. only this place and it’s vestal contemplation. Jai Michelle Louissen

we arrive in spring opening her hands all over the place. in this region of the Netherlands there are fields of flowers everywhere like pointillist landscapes of tulips, violets, hyacinths, dotting rainbow colours. i follow my nose into the woods like my dog Luna, we fall into the bird song and the ponies flanking the path. it is a feast and it does not belong to me, yet is mine to savour. a pleasure like nothing else. this morning a buzzard flew up from the ground a metre away. we witnessed the curve of her beak and the dark chestnut of her wings. a thrilling and intimate moment.

life itself feels both effervescent and intimate, it’s bubbling fullness can feel overwhelming at times. this week the feast continues with a week of cooking for my husbands birthday. i will nibble at the buffet of poetry as the dishes swell with my labour.

talking of poetry, there are needful things to share, like this incredible poem by Brigit Pegeen Kelly The Leaving and an invitation to delve into writing experimental nature poetry with a workshop series based around our next submission theme, BIOPHILIA. we will host three workshops over three weeks beginning in May, each one approaching the theme with differing perspectives. the workshop costs £60 with our paid subscribers receiving a discount also. more on that in our free museletter on next week.

and for our submitting writers, here is our April list compiled by our editors.

Saraswati Nagpal

The Bellevue Literary Review’s general submissions are open, and submissions for Literary Prizes for 2026 are invited for fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Deadline is July 1st. https://blreview.org/submit/