The People of the Other Village, by Thomas Lux

One of the poets I am most looking forward to listening to at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in November is … More

Lifesaving Poems: Naomi Shihab Nye’s ‘The Art of Disappearing’

The Art of Disappearing When they say Don’t I know you?say no. When they invite you to the partyremember what … More

I am driving to a thing. Not a famous thing, an out of the way thing. A classroom, perhaps. … More

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

Sometime in the early Nineties I did a very brave thing. I took myself to a poetry reading. I went … More

I began writing the Lifesaving Poems posts in May, 2011. Below is a list of the twenty most popular poems … More

Here are the text and ppt presentations of my NATE Conference 2014 keynote speech on The Power of Poetry. PDF … More

Groundsmen The pile of cuttings puts on dreadful weight, swelters in the season, and leaks treacle. Beside it, the … More

Father’s Day 1970 This is the day my father lets us sleep, then brings us tea in bed. The sun … More

Sugar in Banana Sandwiches ‘Still something of the child in you’ she says. I find that hard to swallow … More

Middle Ages Folk from the past jostled for a place in the wallwith distant and here the same sizeIn the … More

The impetus behind this blog is praise. I hope it comes across. I made a vow that I would use … More

In the Desert Knowing Nothing Here I am in the desert knowing nothing, here I am knowing nothing in … More

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

I was very saddened to learn recently of the death of Michael Baldwin, the novelist, poet, writing tutor and former … More

Twilight Three minutes ago it was almost dark. Now all the darkness is in the leaves (there are no … More

Damp white imprints dog the feet; snowbound trolley, snowbound street. Her tip of glove to lip and cheek, “Goodbye.” Go. … More

I have been thinking a lot recently about Tomas Tranströmer’s poem ‘Alone’. When I first read it I was taken … More