Poetry highlights of 2013

Two readings stood out for me in 2013. The first was at an arts centre in the middle of nowhere … More

Teachers’ views of creativity

Teachers’ views of creativity is my new research article exploring poetry writing pedagogy. Here is the Abstract: Discourses of creativity in … More

Gratitude

I’m grateful to you, you see. I wanted to tell you. –Raymond Carver (‘For Tess’) A kind, wise man once … More

Lifesaving Poems: Piotr Sommer’s ‘Morning on Earth’

Morning on Earth Morning on earth, light snow, and just when it was so warm, practically spring. But the thermometer … More

Lifesaving Poems: Kate Bingham’s ‘Things I Learned at University’

Things I Learned at University How to bike on cobblestones and where to signal right.How to walk through doors held … More

Lifesaving Poems: T.S. Eliot’s ‘Hysteria’

Hysteria As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her … More

Lifesaving Poems: ‘Underneath the mathematics of time’

Phil Bowen gave me this poem, written by a ten-year-old girl, in 1998 to illustrate a writing game he submitted … More

Remission anniversary seven

Today is the seventh anniversary of the day I was told I was officially in remission from cancer. The popular … More

An interview: Putting Words to Cancer

Thank you to Julia McGuinness for posting this interview with me on her Creative Connections blog. In it I discuss … More

Heaney’s Pedagogy

A comment Mark Robinson made in the days following Seamus Heaney’s death in August resonated with me. He said he … More