Welcome to the Ink Sweat & Tears Poetry Archive
This archive is formed from all the posts from that original Ink Sweat & Tears website, it now consists of everything we have published up to the end of 2019. IS&T was founded by Salt author Charles Christian in 2007 as a platform for new poetry and short prose, and experimental work in digital media. Charles ran the site single-handedly, publishing new work every day till 2010, when now sole editor, poet and artist Helen Ivory came on board as Deputy Editor. The Ink Sweat & Tears website continues to run and can be found here.
You can either click on the poems below which run from most recent to oldest, or you can search for particular poem or poet, there is also a list of all the categories to click through. From Prose & Poetry to Words and Images, Haibun, Tanka, Haiku & Haiga, in addition we have all of the Poems of the month and Poetry picks, old blogs and news, award nominated, reviews and interviews.
Please do take a look.
Search the archive
Prose and poetry
Poems and prose published on the website from start to finish.
David Calcutt
Mouth Bow I You place the tip across your mouth hold it still, the shaped beechwood sliver of a new moon’s edge in your hand. Between your fingers the flat oval of bone. A touch, resting....
Susan Castillo Street
Shelling Peas The afternoon is woven thick with mauve wisteria scent, the buzzing of cicadas. Across the street, hymns blare from the Baptist church loudspeaker. Rock of...
Natalie Crick
The Secret The words fell from her mouth Like black snakes. Hissss. She has lost them all. The secret! A promise she could not keep. Someone knows. He lies in bed, the room...
Sally Michaelson
Sweatshop The delivery boy, awash with cold air, is rolling The frozen bales. The baster’s thread emerges from the chalk track and dips back in like the dolphin he saw in mid-Atlantic on the...
Emma McCourty
Human Luggage A grey Huddle descends: Hilda and Beryl roll the tide forwards Although the wave is sedate and unsure Chris grabs Ben's hand off to the side needing a friend Bernie thinks...
Herb Kauderer
Bad Timing This is the tragedy of enduring many loves, that we give away valuable pieces of ourselves to unworthy people. And in time we have so little left to give away that...
Helen Goldsmith
Thirty-seven degrees A fault line down a white washed wall. The corner of the mirror. Beads; beryl, turquoise, topaz, jade. Late summer hums, power lines hiss, rotting stems...
Roddy Williams
you have to eat she cries if i do not eat so i eat the breakfast i eat the clouds, i eat my words letter by letter scooped with gravy onto a knife. i eat a sandwich she's prepared and...
Thomas Ország-Land
The Stones of Jerusalem 1. Arrival & Departure –In memoriam György Timár Oblivious to his grandson – a gift! – absorbed in a birthday book, my timorous brother lifted his eyes to...
Amy Crosby
Broken He was a reassembly job. A fixer-upper. A jigsaw puzzle. At first I tried with stitches while he slept; my mother had taught me how to sew when I was a little girl and I...
Poetry Picks
Our favourite poems and ‘best of’ chosen from each month between 2007 and 2019
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Haibun, Tanka, Haiku, & Haiga
Haibun, Tanka, Haiku, & Haiga reviously published on the website.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
12 Days of Christmas
All the poems from our regular 12 days of Christmas feature.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Words & Images
Words with images previously published on the website.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Blogs and news
Blogs and archived news from 2007 to 2020.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Reviews
Archived reviews from 2007 to 2020.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Interviews
Archived interviews from 2007 to 2020.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.