Don’t clap

I once heard Andrew Motion give a poetry reading at a day-conference for teachers, writers and writers in education. There … More

Don Paterson’s ‘Oh God’ moment

The most immediate and forthright analysis of a poem I have seen at any poetry workshop occurred as I passed … More

I am delighted to have two new poems on Josephine Corcoran’s And Other Poems poetry blog. This is where you … More

One of the most powerful performances on my old Faber cassette tape of Ted Hughes reading his poems is ‘Bride … More

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

The third Writing Research Across Borders conference takes place this week in Paris. I will be presenting a poster of … More

I have been thinking a lot recently about final lines of poems. I’ve always been fond of Seamus Heaney’s comment about … More

The Day After I made a leek and potato soup the day after, prompted by the look of the peeled … More

Gift A day so happy.Fog lifted early. I worked in the garden.Hummingbirds were stopping over the honeysuckle flowers.There was no … More

My Crow A crow flew into the tree outside my window. It was not Ted Hughes’s crow, or Galway’s crow. … More

Riddance has been reviewed by cancer patients, and former patients, under the aegis of Macmillan Cancer Support. You can find out … More

Once upon a time I broke the rules and spoke with another poet (it doesn’t matter who) about a … More

I Am Not I I am not I. I am this one walking beside me whom I do not … More

I get to the reading on time. I find a place near the front, so I can get to the … More

Sometimes I think it’s gone forever -Ken Smith I want to write a poem, Seamus Heaney says, but I have … More

Seth Godin says in The Icarus Deception that however many good reviews you are lucky to get for your work, it … More

I have been thinking a lot recently about the gap between what is expected of us and what we think … More

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