Should I have heard of you?

‘We are at a party that doesn’t love us‘ – Tomas Tranströmer We are at a thing. Not a poetry … More

Now the silences are right

I am completely torn apart -Rupert Loydell When I first read Raymond Carver’s Fires I loved and understood all of it, … More

I was saddened to hear of the death of Gerard Benson last week. A poet and anthologist, he was probably … More

When Ezra Pound claimed that ‘Poetry is news that stays news’ it is likely he was thinking of Katy Evans-Bush’s Baroque … More

My main memory of watching The West Wing is the way Martin Sheen would wrap up discussions with his staff by … More

Having not succeeded at school, I’ve always thought of poetry as the holidays, rather than term-time. Hugo Williams I went … More

In the Desert Knowing Nothing Here I am in the desert knowing nothing, here I am knowing nothing in … More

Lately I have been pondering the practice of paying attention, vis-à-vis my habit of keeping a notebook to capture impressions, … More

Readers of this blog will know I have been thinking a lot about stationery recently. (Actually, that is something of … More

I was very saddened to learn recently of the death of Michael Baldwin, the novelist, poet, writing tutor and former … More

I once heard Andrew Motion give a poetry reading at a day-conference for teachers, writers and writers in education. There … More

The most immediate and forthright analysis of a poem I have seen at any poetry workshop occurred as I passed … More

Damp white imprints dog the feet; snowbound trolley, snowbound street. Her tip of glove to lip and cheek, “Goodbye.” Go. … More

The third Writing Research Across Borders conference takes place this week in Paris. I will be presenting a poster of … More

I Am Not I I am not I. I am this one walking beside me whom I do not … More

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

If you’re not enough without the gold medal, you’ll never be enough with it. – John Candy, Cool Runnings I did not … More

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