Father’s Day 1970 This is the day my father lets us sleep, then brings us tea in bed. The sun…
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A curry with Matthew Sweeney
I am in the pub with Rupert. We are talking about planning a thing. It’s definitely going to happen. A…
The burnt horizon
I am at a thing. It is my thing, contributing to the thing of others, who I do not know.…
A new poem: Hymn of Rain
Ink Sweat & Tears have published a new poem, ‘Hymn of Rain’. Here’s to another barbecue summer!
The cancer World Cup
The ward is a void without him. Football blares in the corner, the monotonous roar of the crowd unleavened by…
Influences: Duncan Kramer
I met the furniture designer Duncan Kramer at summer camp. Not as kids but as what we laughingly called leaders.…
Hated by the book
The book is not in love with me. I shower it with love and promises of more stationery, but all…
When the Holy Spirit Danced With Me in My Kitchen
When the Holy Spirit Danced With Me in My Kitchen the first thing I noticed was his arms,…
Influences: Hugo Williams
I’m talking about real influence now –Raymond Carver This is the first in a new series of blog posts about people…
Why aren’t you dead yet?
Jörn Cann wasn’t my friend. He was my doctor. He was famous before we even met him as the doctor…
A Case of You
The way it starts. With an ending. Just before our love got lost. We have all been here: the wit…
Curtains
The room is small, the size of a student bedsit. An enormous grey sofa takes up most of the space.…
I have not read a book in six months
I have not read a book in six months -Raymond Carver, ‘Drinking While Driving’ I can still remember the shock…
Lifesaving Poems: Martyn Crucefix’s ‘Sugar in Banana Sandwiches’
Sugar in Banana Sandwiches ‘Still something of the child in you’ she says. I find that hard to swallow…
Lifesaving Poems: Tonnus Oosterhoff’s ‘Middle Ages’
Middle Ages (Translated by Paul Vincent) Folk from the past jostled for a place in the wall with distant…
Such fun
We are driving to a thing. We are lost. It is a lunch thing, so the children are in tow.…
Should I have heard of you?
‘We are at a party that doesn’t love us‘ – Tomas Tranströmer We are at a thing. Not a poetry…
Living the dream
Or this one. You arrive at the venue early but there is no one there to greet you. You pace…