Dear Friends
Here are the blog posts which you read most often in 2017, according to my WordPress stats:
Lifesaving Poems: This year’s top ten
Mary Oliver, The Journey
Pablo Neruda, The Dead Woman (La Muerta)
U A Fanthorpe, The Atlas
Simon Armitage, To His Lost Lover
Derek Mahon, Everything is Going to be All Right
Ted Hughes, Wind
Seamus Heaney, Night Drive
Naomi Shihab Nye, The Art of Disappearing
Brendan Kennelly, May the Silence Break
Rose Cook, A Poem for Someone Who is Juggling Her Life
Lifesaving Poems: some of my personal favourites (which you also like)
Ann Gray, mercifully ordain that we may become aged together
Ted Kooser, A Rainy Morning
Denise Levertov, The Secret
Marin Sorescu, With Only One Life
Jo Shapcott, Era
Edwin Morgan, One Cigarette
Naomi Jaffa, Some of the Usual
Thomas Lux, An Horatian Notion
Sharon Olds, Looking at Them Asleep
John Ashbery, Down by the Station Early in the Morning
The posts you read most this year were:
On cancer as a ‘fight’ -in which I dared to criticise Barack Obama’s war metaphor of cancer, and got trolled for my trouble
Not a ‘thin’ year for poetry -a roundup of my favourite poetry from 2017
Back to school -my riff on the end of the holidays, impostor syndrome, and seagulls
No One You Know -a new anthology with Unbound -crowdfunding my new poetry anthology with Sue Dymoke (thank you to everyone who has pledged their support so far!)
On not being Anthony Wilson -I haven’t always been who I am. (Which of us really is who we are?)
Poet-detective -a meditation on Wallander, Frasier, and Alzheimer’s disease
What really matters? -a Teachers as Writers blog post: what do you want to teach when you teach writing?
The next swim -on rediscovering a new habit from my teenage years
Writing in the cracks -where do I get my writing done? Here.
Cured -on being told I was ‘effectively cured’ from lymphoma, eleven years after the fact
…and my very favourite piece that I wrote in 2017 (even though you shouldn’t have favourites -thank you to the 157 people who read it)
Smith -on my school friend Phil Smith: cricketer, anarchist, teacher
Thank you to all my readers. I do not take your support for granted. Looking forward to seeing you in 2018, with more posts, including news of new books and projects
Anthony
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You can find details of how to pledge support for No One You Know here
Photo: from Elizabeth Frink, Transformation, Hauser & Wirth
Anthony Wilson 
Loved them. thanks, happy Christmas and well-done Anthony xx
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Thank you so much Anastacia. Happy Christmas and see you in 2018, Anthony
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Dare I say this might be the best gift any of us receive this year? I’m delighted to have unwrapped this one, Anthony, and I send grateful thanks to you for sending it. The Rose Cook poem went straight to my heart, but so many other gems were also included. I chuckled about the trolls after your good post about “war on cancer.” I had a similar experience after I dared to post that I didn’t have great confidence in Hillary Clinton (even though I’m a Democrat). I lost friends over that one. Still we soldier on, those of us who dare to speak up, and we are a company I’m proud to be part of. I wish you and yours the very best for the holidays. And again, thanks.
Molly in San Diego
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Thank you Molly! I know what you mean about Hillary. But even from this distance I would rather have her than the present incumbent. See you in 2018 and have a great Christmas, Anthony.
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Have enjoyed your blog this year and this summing up is really useful – thank you, Anthony.
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Thanks so much for saying so Christine. Looking forward to seeing you in 2018. With all good wishes, Anthony.
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