Lifesaving Lines: What the Living Do, by Marie Howe

Two great lines for the price of one (it is Christmas, after all) this week, from Marie Howe’s extraordinary poem … More

Lifesaving Poems: Marie Howe’s ‘Prayer’

Concluding this mini-series of poems I shared in my reading at the Greenbelt festival last weekend, here is Prayer by Marie … More

Here is a list of the most-read Lifesaving Poems during 2015: Mary Oliver, The Journey UA Fanthorpe, Atlas Ted Hughes, … More

Cups They know us by our lips. They know the proverb about the space between us. Many slip. They … More

Dear Ant Looking forward to 2015 it’s tempting to think it will never reach the heights of 2014. Big mistake. Huge. … More

During the Christmas period I am reposting some old posts from my archive. Wishing all my readers a very happy … 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

These are the most read Lifesaving Poems posts of 2013. Mary Oliver, ‘The Journey’ I first read this on … More

I began writing the Lifesaving Poems series of blog posts in May 2010. The idea was to celebrate the poems … More

What the Living Do Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And … More

The most recent addition to my list of Lifesaving Poems is ‘Prayer’ by Marie Howe. I read it for the first time … More

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