The book is fifty blog posts old

The adventures of the book have now clocked up fifty blog posts. Here is a list of all of them, … More

But I’m a poet

The book is in its gardening clothes. ‘I’m going out,’ it says. ‘You’ve let the lawn go again.’ ‘You can’t … More

‘I don’t know if I can do this any more.’ ‘Do what?’ the book says. ‘This.’ ‘Sit around waiting for … More

‘I’ve been at the field.’ This, spoken by one of the teachers on last week’s writing residential at Totleigh … More

I met Fairnie somewhere round the back of Richard Nicholson (or was it Rupert Loydell?) sometime in the very early … More

‘What are you doing?’ I say. ‘What does it look like?’ the book says. ‘It looks like you are tearing … More

One of the great functions of art is to help … More

This blog would be nothing without its readers. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, made a comment or a … More

‘To tell you the truth, it’s been shattering. But kind of amazing, as well.’ ‘You never said. You never said. … More

Here is a quotation from Seth Godin’s The Icarus Deception that I have been meditating on for a while now. I have … More

Below is the text of a PowerPoint presentation that I am giving today at the Directors of Studies Conference 2015, at Port … More

Sporting occasions are bad. Or the Corbyn result, that was hard. I seem to remember (no one else does) a … More

Since I decided to leave Twitter and abscond from Facebook I have been reminded of some of the guiding principles … More

I have just come back from a thing. I am tired. A good afternoon of good conversation about large, important … More

I am watching a particularly bleak episode of Wallander when the book pops its head round the door. It stands … More

Recently I have been reading the exquisite prose of Janna Malamud Smith, in her book-length meditation on creativity: An Absorbing Errand: … More

Yesterday I listened to a dialogue between Debbie Millman and Seth Godin on art-making, resistance, anxiety, how the internet has changed … More

because of the words and because of the books because of the woman in the anorak at the swimming baths … More