Dark horses: 21 Lifesaving Poems which should be better known

Readers of this blog will know that I make a list at the end of each year showing the most … 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

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

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

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

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

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

I was saddened to hear of the death of Gerard Benson last week. A poet and anthologist, he was probably … More

I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More