Praise the Rain Praise the rain; the seagull diveThe curl of plant, the raven talk—Praise the hurt, the house slackThe … More
Category: Reading Poetry
Not a ‘thin’ year for poetry
It was one of those throwaway remarks made by one writer, male, to another, ditto, in one of those books … More
#NaBloPoMo 17 – Coffee? (meditation on a blog post by Josephine Corcoran)
If you came round for coffee these days you’d be offered decaff. Doctor’s orders, I’d say. And against my better … More
A household name
I turn the radio on and switch it off again, unable to settle to anything. There is still no sign … More
No one you know
‘You look upset.’ ‘I am upset,’ I say. ‘Well, not so much upset as disappointed.’ ‘Want to talk about it?’ … More
Mark Strand on reading poetry -a found poem
Sometimes poems aren’t literal representations of anything. Sometimes a poem just exists as something else in the universe that you … More
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
Poetry is knowledge -by Octavio Paz
Poetry is knowledge, salvation, power abandonment. An operation capable … More
Guest blog post: David Ferry’s ‘Lake Water’, by Martyn Crucefix
This is the second in a series of guest blog posts about poets who have been overlooked and who should … More