For several weeks before Christmas I had these words from Ian McMillan’s peerless ‘Stone, I Presume’ rattling around my head. … More
Category: Ian McMillan
From the archives: A curry with Matthew Sweeney
I am in the pub with Rupert. We are talking about planning a thing. It’s definitely going to happen. A … More
Ted Hughes coming out of the radio
I have been wondering recently if the world of the poem (the one that is currently not-here, just out of … More
Lifesaving Poems: Craig Raine’s ‘Heaven on Earth’
Heaven on Earth Now that it is night, you fetch the wash from outer space, from the frozen … More
It is summer for months
It Is Summer for Months Clothes are skimpy and tans are got without flight bags. We saunter beside a … More
A curry with Matthew Sweeney
I am in the pub with Rupert. We are talking about planning a thing. It’s definitely going to happen. A … More
I have not read a book in six months
I have not read a book in six months -Raymond Carver, ‘Drinking While Driving’ I can still remember the shock … More
Lifesaving Poems: Sylvia Plath’s ‘Mushrooms’
I think my first bout of Poetry Exhaustion occurred sometime after my A levels. Our English paper was quite advanced for its … More
Why I miss Robert Rehder
It is odd to speak of missing someone you never met, but this is how I feel about the American … More
Lifesaving Poems: Tom Raworth’s ‘8.06 p.m. June 10th 1970’
As I say in my previous blog post, I owe my knowledge of ‘8.06 p.m. June 10th 1970’ to the … More
Lifesaving Poems: Ian McMillan’s ‘On The Impossibility of Staying Alive’
On the Impossibility of Staying Alive They have found a new moon; it stands on my shoulder. They call it … More