Pure distraction

In the rift between what is going to happen and whatever we would wish to happen, poetry holds attention for … More

Ignore everyone, absorb everything

During the mad phase, when everything was a tweet or a share or a retweet, one of my favourite discoveries … More

A few weeks ago I was writing in my own blog, the great fogginzo’s cobweb, about the way I … More

Goulash A crucial ingredient is the right frame of mind so abandon all ideas of getting on. Stop pedalling, dismount, … More

The afternoon was drawing to a close when I knew I had hit the wall. On its own terms there … More

Since I decided to leave Twitter and abscond from Facebook I have been reminded of some of the guiding principles … More

After Reading Tu Fu, I Go Outside to the Dwarf Orchard East of me, west of me, full summer. … More

As I did last year, I will be taking a break from uploading new posts to this blog over August. … More

I am deeply grateful to Dave Russell of Survivors’ Poetry for his review of Lifesaving Poems in the current edition of Poetry … More

How I put The Art of Falling together In May 2012 my first pamphlet If We Could Speak Like Wolves … More

Thank you Lord, thank you. Thank you for all the gifts that you have given me today, Thank you for … More

I have been at a thing. Poets I love and trust were there. We laughed. We invented scurrilous Twitter-profiles. It … More

I am minding my own business, putting out some rubbish, when it happens. An elderly man I know, a neighbour, … More

As I said recently, I have been moving. Not away, not abroad. But here, within the space that already exists, … More

On Literary Envy “Comparison is the thief of joy” –Teddy Roosevelt You wake up one morning. You check in … More

This is the second in a series of Guest Blog Posts that I am hosting this year. More are … More

after and with apologies to Mark Halliday The missing blog post has gone AWOL. Never sure of its place in … More

My deep thanks to Maria Taylor, who has written the most lovely appreciation of Lifesaving Poems. Thank you Maria for capturing its … More