‘Awful but cheerful’ is the final phrase and line of ‘The Bight‘, by Elizabeth Bishop. I’ve always felt that the … More
Author: Anthony Wilson
I am a lecturer, poet and writing tutor. I work in teacher and medical education at the University of Exeter. My anthology Lifesaving Poems was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015. In 2012 I published Riddance (Worple Press), a collection of poems, and Love for Now (Impress Books), a memoir, about my experience of cancer. The Wind and the Rain, my sixth collection of poems, is available now from Blue Diode Publishing. My current research project, funded by the Foyle Foundation, is Young Poets' Stories: https://youngpoetsstories.com/. This blog is archived by the British Library.
Lifesaving Lines: The Gift, by Brendan Kennelly
I was at a thing. Very rarely for me, it was my own thing, only my second in front of … More
Lifesaving Lines: Why We Must Write, by Mark Halliday
I thought of it before I knew I had remembered it. Just the word ‘then’. Rereading and searching at speed … More
New crushes
As I try to hold on to beginner’s mind, I recall the practice of falling in love at a moment’s … More
Who are we serving?
One of the great joys for me this summer was being able to get back to Greenbelt, a festival of … More
In search of beginner’s mind
As I come back to this blog, I am looking to try and inhabit what Zen practitioners call beginner’s mind. … More
Some new poems
I am delighted to announce the publication of some new poems, which you can find at the links below. Having … More
RIP Jaan Kaplinski
I was very saddened to learn today that the leading Estonian poet Jaan Kaplinski has died, aged 80, of motor … More
Lone wolf
I am deeply grateful to Hilary Menos and Andy Brodie at The Friday Poem for taking a new poem of … More
Writing prompts (blog post ending with a line by Shawna Lemay)
after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind.Write about what you learned at university.Or did not … More
Summer reading
To continue this season of not, where I have been reposting old blog posts and links to some others, I … More
Summer links from the archive
Here are some links from my archive to keep you going while I summon the energy and wherewithal to get … More
The blanket
Though you may disappear, you’re not forgotten hereAnd I will say to you, I will do what I can do … More
Climate change grief: some resources
First published on 1st April, 2019 – A week and a half ago I wrote here about my ‘climate change … More
On Being Chipper
There were just a few of us in the room, gathered round a table. I had been invited to speak. … More
A day he won’t have
I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More
Mind over natter
The YouTube clip below is a recording of a reading I made last week for the University of Exeter Guild … More
Head. Space.
As the book might say, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? As the book also might say, I have been … More
Lifesaving Poems 