Lifesaving Poems: Jaan Kaplinski’s ‘This morning was cold’

In my last blog post I wrote about the influence of social contexts upon one’s reading, specifically that of … More

Not Cricket

I began writing this poem in 1996 in response to the election of a BNP councillor in Tower Hamlets, the … More

Alone I One evening in February I came near to dying here. The car skidded sideways on the ice, out … More

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

The People of the Other Village hate the people of this village and would nail our hats to our … More

The Ring for Pete and Ana James And if I said a part of me leapt from a … More

Love Listen Let’s love, listen, take time when time is all we have. Let’s be unafraid to be kind, learn … More

To My Cancer When you left me I did not say goodbye. I kissed you then carried you outside. You … More

I hate end-of-year roundups. But I was so impressed by five books of poetry this year that I felt I … More

I love the silence that descends on a classroom full of people who are all engaged in the act of … More

Re-reading Steven Waling’s review of Frank O’Hara in The North the other day reminded me of James Schuyler today. Not as famous … More