Megan Layley

Poet, Author, Freelance Journalist

The Swift Poetry Review

  • Apologies for the Absence

    Hello, long time no update I know. In the past year there has been a great deal of changes to my life which has adjusted my priorities. Last May my husband and I found out we were expecting . Our daughter was born in February and it’s fair to say it’s been the most rewarding

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  • 3 Poems by 3 Poets June 24 # Garden edition

    This month’s selection is inspired by a tiny and slightly pathetic carrot I recently picked from my garden. So June’s selection is Garden inspired. The first poem is about a gardeners nemesis. The Snail. Personally I love snails; the unique spiral patterns of their shells are beautiful and the way they slowly slide is the

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  • Update June 24

    So things have been fairly quiet recently on the writing front. I have only managed to complete 1 poem from start to finish and re-edited another couple in the last 2 months; so definitely a period of writers block. In terms of submissions, I have had a few rejections come through, and as of today;

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  • 3 Poems by 3 Poets #May 24

    This month’s 3 poems are inspired by the holiday to Ibiza I recently returned from. The first choice is; The Vacation by Wendell Berry. Wendell Berry is one of my favourite poets, his Sabbath poems remind me to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures nature offers. This poem to me speaks volumes of how

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  • Go For It! Some Hits… All The Misses: Written and Illustrated by The Part-Time Secret

    Something has arrived, something I have been waiting for since my interview several months ago with Liam and hoping it would arrive sooner rather than later; his debut collection. When I first discovered Liam’s work; I was surprised he hadn’t gotten a publishing deal yet. Liam has a decent following on instagram where he posts

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  • 3 Poems by 3 Poets: April 2024

    This month’s selection is based on the rising tensions going on in the world right now. It doesn’t matter what religion you do or don’t follow or what ethnicity you are; right now more than ever the world needs peace. The unjustified suffering needs to end so that the slow healing and recovery process can

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  • What Am I Up to? Update

    So my regularity of posting onto my blog has been scarce over the last month and to be honest I haven’t planned much future stuff either. But that does not mean I haven’t been busy behind the scenes either. So I did a competition on my blog last month and was a little disappointed by

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  • Competition Result

    At the start of the month I opened up my first competition for an opportunity to have a reader’s poem onto my blog. The challenge was for entrants to create the most belly laughing poem that is 4-8 lines long. If I am being completely honest I didn’t receive as many applicants as I had

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  • Competition Deadline Extended!

    The deadline for the competition for best belly laughing poem( 4-8 lines) has been extended until 20th March 2024. Winners expected to still be announced on 23rd as originally planned. So an extra few days to get your submissions in. See original post for competition details. Good luck!

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  • 3 Poems by 3 Poets March 2024- Mothers Day Special

    Welcome to this month’s 3 poems by 3 poets. As it’s Mother’s Day here in the UK, I thought I’d dedicate this month’s selection to our mums. The first poem is a beautiful poem by Julia Kasdorf called “What I Learned From my Mother”. What the narrator talks of learning a sense of compassion from

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