My stats

This isn’t about numbers, but my relationship with them. It isn’t about giving you a figure. (By the time you … More

On not having cancer

On certain afternoons I am certain it has come back. A twinge in my right side, where the pain … More

I had begun the poem after work one day, on a pad of work-related notes. Get in, get out, I … More

Made of orange card, it’s an outline of my son’s hand. Comprising two sections, one his tiny, spread fingers, … More

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

I think I need the Other Writer much more than they need me. Off the top of my head I … More

Last week I gave up writing. For about a day. I had been given a book by one of my … More

I met Fairnie somewhere round the back of Richard Nicholson (or was it Rupert Loydell?) sometime in the very early … More

I have been sorting. I have been chucking. It’s been the recurring theme over the last eighteen months. I cleared … More

At the start of each academic year, usually when I have known them for a week or so, I make … More

I am not sure why I started wearing deck shoes. I am no sailor -I have been on a sailing … More

‘What are you doing?’ I say. ‘What does it look like?’ the book says. ‘It looks like you are tearing … More

Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotyzing yourself and going over the … More

The Negro Speaks of Rivers I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the … More

The Dead Woman If suddenly you do not exist,if suddenly you no longer live,I shall live on. I do not … More

The Advantages of Learning I am a man with no ambitions And few friends, wholly incapable Of making a … More

This is the opening question and answer to an interview with Paul Clyne of Poetry Spotlight, published today. With thanks … More

We walked into the brunt light, towards the hospital. The air was dry, February-cold. Traffic was going about its business. … More