The poetry of Gianluca Vialli

The great Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli has died, and I am sad. He was 58 and had … More

Lifesaving Lines: Pobble, by Heather Trickey

Heather Trickey was a social research scientist, charity worker, Quaker and poet. In 2020, during the first Covid lockdown, she … More

A huge thank you to Ken Head and Helen Ivory at Ink Sweat & Tears for this review of Riddance … More

I have been thinking a lot about the poetry of Julia Darling this week. Her work became essential to me … More

To continue this season of not, where I have been reposting old blog posts and links to some others, I … More

I am not completely stupid. I know celebrity culture is here to stay. As my children frequently remind me, ‘It … More

It wasn’t all rain. There were rainbows among which Shawna has blogged about fountain pens again. Honestly, she could do … More

Dear Cancer It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Fifteen years, to be precise. To the day. Amazing to realise it … More

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

A little taster for you. This is an essay from my forthcoming book Deck Shoes. – I was having … More

Towards the end of my treatment for cancer in 2006 I had one of the most profound conversations of … More

I was having a coffee with a new writer friend the other day. Not having known each other for … More

Yesterday former US President Barack Obama tweeted his support of Senator John McCain who has just been diagnosed with brain … More

A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More

Smith Objectionable, mercurial, fierce, wise, bandaged, solitary and irresistible, Phil Smith and I were not close. Only in our … More

Rupert Loydell is shouting at the countryside. I have got up at sparrow-fart to drive him to the Blandford … More

In the dry months after my cancer treatment, when the visitors stopped visiting and I put all the cards … More

After they left, the house went very quiet. No one really knew about the quietness but me. I played a … More