Jean Sprackland’s ‘The Birkdale Nightingale’ (LentBlog40)

For the final Saturday in Lent, and the final post of this LentBlog series, I have great pleasure in reposting … More

From the archives: The Birkdale Nightingale, by Jean Sprackland

The Birkdale Nightingale (Bufo calamito – the Natterjack toad) On Spring nights you can hear them two miles away, calling … More

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

My first reader was a man called Fergus. A friend of a flatmate at university, I never got to … More

Here are the most read Lifesaving Poems of 2014. For the first time I have been able to compare last … More

Thanks to the vision and generosity of Jean Sprackland, between 1999-2001 I had the privilege of working with the great … More

I have not read a book in six months -Raymond Carver, ‘Drinking While Driving’ I can still remember the shock … More

I listened to the most wonderful radio programme about failure the other day. It featured Anne Enright talking with clear-eyed … More

I began the year with two books which helped me slow down and breathe: Christian McEwen’s World Enough and Time and … More