Introducing Chrissy Williams

The Burning Of The Houses Tottenham is on fire and I work in an arts centre where the sky is … More

Aldeburgh and silence

Mark Doty had it. And John Hartley Williams. And Esther Morgan. And Roy Blackman, introducing Mark Doty talking about Whitman. … More

I quit

I am at a thing. A historic thing. (An historic thing? I will never know). Poets are there. Household names. … More

Poetry and illness

Medicine The black hair of my Chinese doctor gleams like combed ink as he leans over his desk, with quick … More

On not relapsing

A year ago I had a relapse of my cancer. Except I didn’t. For a week or so I knew … More

Dusk

Reading Thomas Lux’s magnificent new Selected Poems reminded me recently that I first heard his poems before I read them. One of … More

Past fifty

Well, it’s happening. Happened, I mean. Stuff I thought would last forever -film titles, the actors in them, scenes of … More

Adélia Prado’s tone

She started as a name. There I was, following my nose, minding my own business, trying to ignore all instincts … More

Influences: Alan Booth

Alan Booth wasn’t the first teacher to teach me something, but he was the first who drew me into the … More

Influences: Jörn Cann’s art

  This is Jörn Cann. He was my ward doctor at the haematology unit where I was treated for non-Hodgkin’s … More

Influences: Peter Bourke

In 1991 we moved to a house in Brixton, south London. Of all our welcomes, that of our neighbour, the … More

Influences: Martin Wilson

One of the biggest influences on my life, let alone my writing, is Martin Wilson. I should know; he’s my … More

Lifesaving Poems: the book

Photograph © Bloodaxe Books Ltd I am delighted to announce that my Lifesaving Poems series of blog posts has now become … More

Influence

  I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work … More

In memory of Michael Baldwin

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

Ann Gray’s genius

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

Then this

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

This is the day

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More