Before No shoes and a glossyred helmet, I rodeon the back of my dad’sHarley at seven years old.Before the divorce.Before … 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.
A holiness to exhaustion
First There is a holiness to exhaustion is what I keep telling myself, filling out the form so my TA … More
Ourselves again
Tollund That Sunday morning we had travelled far. We stood a long time out in Tollund Moss: The low ground, … More
Be kind
Be Kind Not merely because Henry James saidthere were but four rules of life—be kind be kind be kind be … More
You’ve got to write it all down
The unexamined life’s no different from … More
The Thing Is
The Thing Is to love life, to love it evenwhen you have no stomach for itand everything you’ve held dearcrumbles … More
When I am Asked
When I am Asked When I am asked how I began writing poems, I talk about the indifference of nature. … More
Autumn
Autumn One night goes on longer than the rest, never so long, whiled away. Then dawn. Goodbye, insects. Hollow casings … More
God’s Grief
God’s Grief Great parentwho must have started outwith such high hopes.What magnitude of suffering,the immensity of guilt,the staggering despair.A mind … More
Praise the Rain
Praise the Rain Praise the rain; the seagull diveThe curl of plant, the raven talk—Praise the hurt, the house slackThe … More
The most popular lifesaving poems
Earlier this year my Lifesaving Poems blog enjoyed something of a milestone. Not as momentous as Jimmy Anderson taking his … More
Open letter to Arthur Frank (on reading At the Will of the Body)
Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More
The fear of poetry -by Muriel Rukeyser
The Fear of Poetry In this moment when we facehorizons and conflicts widerthan ever before, we want our resources,the ways … More
Lifesaving Poems: Margaret Avison’s ‘Twilight’
Twilight Three minutes ago it was almost dark.Now all the darkness is in theleaves (there are no morelow garage roofs, … More
Lifesaving Poems: Sean O’Brien’s ‘Before’
BeforeMake over the alleys and gardens to birdsong,the hour of not-for-an-hour. Lie still.Leave the socks you forgot on the clothesline.Leave … More
Go well
I have walked into the grief. I have walked into brave space, mine and others’. I have sat in … More
Tired, but
I am tired. Though I write from a place of privilege and of safety, I am tired. Tired of feeling … More
Saying goodbye
I want to congratulate you on passing this course and achieving QTS in this uniquely difficult and strange year. None … More
Lifesaving Poems 