A Patch of Sky Review of 2025
and happy new year!
How poetry is made…
In this age of AI, it’s worth remembering the huge amount of manual labour involved in making even the simplest poem. As a special New Year thank you, I thought you would enjoy seeing this Factsheet-Treat all about How Poetry Is Made. It was written and drawn by the brilliant Edward Ward. You can find Edward here.
He moved to Australia with his family but not before he was able to create a series entitled The 12 Days of Shedmass for my alter ego Shedman. If you would like to see his work on shed-based craft poetry, you can find the whole series on Shedstack.
You can download a PDF of How Poetry Is Made here:
Substackifaction
I’ve been impressed, heartened, refreshed and at times awed by the sheer talent, variety and richness of the different stacks I subscribe to. I love the way I come across stacks quite serendipitously (or because the algorithm knows me well). I love the cross connections, the opportunities for learning, and the challenges of building an audience. Apart from all the excellent writing, Substack is also a great platform for photography and pictures.
In other words, Substack is a delight.
Top 25 in ‘25
In no particular order here are my favourite stacks - my top 25 stacks in 2025!
Sincere apologies if I’ve left anyone out who I visit regularly, my compilation was done on the run!
English Republic of Letters Jeffrey Streeter
The Flagging Dad Andy Carter Go, Andy!
The Bleating Goat Jonathan Porteous Go, Goat!
Memex 1.1 John Laughton
Diary of a Deer Deer Girl
Hanashi Curious Ordinary
Cooking by Ear Francesco Turrisi
Beyond Bloomsbury Victoria K Walker
The Age of Arthur Bernard Mees
Lyrical Surgeries Dorothy Lehane
One More Draft Lucien Wolfson
The Bluestocking Helen Lewis
Now, here, this Finn Hopson
A nature memoir Joe Minihane
The Place Betwixt CJ Heath
Substack-ships On Fire, Off The Shoulder Of Orion Adam Roberts
Dead Language Society Colin Gorrie
Womack’s Wanderings Philip Womack
A Poetry Notebook Jem Wikely
Horace & Friends Victoria Moul
The Common Reader Henry Oliver
The Lichfield Rambler Annette Rubbery
Some Flowers Soon Jeremy Noel-Todd
Between the Lines Julia Bell
Thanks to everyone who has spent some time under A Patch of Sky in 2025. Thank you for your support and interest. I hope you have found some enjoyment in my different offerings. I always try to keep your enjoyment in mind.
I began stacking in 2024 and as with most things digital I just started without a clear idea of my purpose or strategy. It seemed a great way to present my work, initially to family and friends. I began with long form essays, usually with a sky theme or angle.
But – I needed to focus on my current major writing project The Woman on the Cliff about Rowena Cade, the woman who created The Minack Theatre on the cliffs near Land’s End in Cornwall. At the same time, I have a back catalogue of writings that have not seen much light of day. So it was that I came to set up the various sections you’ll now find under A Patch of Sky, allowing me to publish existing written work while I worked on my main project. I expect to post a few chapters from The Woman on the Cliff later this year.
Under A Patch of Sky you can now find:
New and selected brings you one of my poems as both audio and text every Tuesday - sometimes old and sometimes new.
Journal offers you curated notes and intriguing tidbits from my archive and diaries on the same date but from different years.
Shorts – recently launched with a Christmas ghost story written when I was a student – presents short stories, articles and other pieces once a month on the 23rd of the month. There will also be audio versions of the stories and articles, and occasional specials.
As a separate stack in A Patch of Sky I’m serialising my historical detective story The Reward of Delay in weekly episodes on a Saturday as both text and audio podcast. This is an intriguing mystery set in 1789 in the English Midlands, just before the French Revolution and as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace.
To complete my suite of Substackery under A Patch of Sky, there’s also Poems talking - a discussion session with poet Ciaran O’Driscoll about a poem we’ve each brought for the other’s scrutiny.
On a separate stack you can also find my alter ego Shedman pursuing his own particular obsession – sheds and shed stories – at Shedstack.
In 2026, while I pursue publication for The Woman on the Cliff, I should be able to post an essay once a week while continuing to release new material for the different sections.
Reader Feedback
I’m keen to know if you are enjoying my writing. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions. You are the life and soul of A Patch of Sky and I thank you wholeheartedly for your support.
There are five free fully paid subscriptions for people making comments over the next six months to June 30th 2026.
I’ll put the Substack names of everyone eligible in a hat from which Wilson will retrieve the five winners.
Happy New Year
Here are the last three and perhaps less well-known stanzas of Robert Burns’ best known poem, Auld Lang Syne.
We twa hae run about the braes, And pou’d the gowans fine; But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, Sin’ auld lang syne. We twa hae paidl’d in the burn, Frae morning sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar’d Sin’ auld lang syne. And there’s a hand, my trusty fere! And gie’s a hand o’ thine! And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught, For auld lang syne. For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.