Lifesaving Poems: T.S. Eliot’s ‘Hysteria’

Hysteria As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her … More

Lifesaving Poems: ‘Underneath the mathematics of time’

Phil Bowen gave me this poem, written by a ten-year-old girl, in 1998 to illustrate a writing game he submitted … More

A comment Mark Robinson made in the days following Seamus Heaney’s death in August resonated with me. He said he … More

Timetable We all remember school, of course: the lino warming, shoe bag smell, expanse of polished floor. It’s where we … More

Laura Apol’s ‘The Switch’ is a witty poem which explores the tension between primal, and sometimes unforeseen, forces and the … More

Emily Riall will be a new name to many readers of this blog. She was a fine young poet … More

Earlier this year I ran a Poetry School course about poetry and health called Written on the Body. It was … More

In 1991 I made the decision to teach part-time so that I could put poetry more at the centre of … More

As I said the other day, Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds is one of the most important books in my life. As I … More

Sometime in 1997 I went to hear Kevin Crossley-Holland give a reading at Exeter Central Library. I’d heard he was … More

I once heard Stephen Knight say ‘If I am reading well then I am writing well.’ It was a Q … More

I became interested in Robert Lowell’s poetry because of the criticism of Seamus Heaney. I had tried reading him before, … More

Wind This house has been far out at sea all night,The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills,Winds stampeding the … More

Ann Sansom is one of my all-time favourite people, poets or normal, ever. I count myself fortunate to have worked … More

When I speak to trainee primary school teachers about their views of poetry I am often struck by their divergent … More

Early Summer Small things get lost now;There are intrusions,Defeats in alien worlds. This is the time to slide a foolish … More

I wrote yesterday about pitching poems in the classroom which are aimed not at the crowd but perhaps one … More

Who? Who is that child I see wandering, wandering down by the side of the quivering stream? Why does … More