New Year letter

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

The most read Lifesaving Poems of 2014

Here are the most read Lifesaving Poems of 2014. For the first time I have been able to compare last … More

I began writing the Lifesaving Poems posts in May, 2011. Below is a list of the twenty most popular poems … More

Now that we have finally had one in the UK, I found myself wondering recently how many of my Lifesaving Poems choices … More

The Book of Things, Ilhan Berk (Salt, 2009), trs. George Messo Open me anywhere § Slugs Pilot Hi V5, … More

You stick to the routines you have set up, notebook observations, voracious reading, sending the work out to mags, even … More

The impetus behind this blog is praise. I hope it comes across. I made a vow that I would use … 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

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

Swineherd When all this is over, said the swineherd, I mean to retire, where Nobody will have heard about … More

I became interested in Robert Lowell’s poetry because of the criticism of Seamus Heaney. I had tried reading him before, … More

Who? Who is that child I see wandering, wandering down by the side of the quivering stream? Why does … More

I think my first bout of Poetry Exhaustion occurred sometime after my A levels. Our English paper was quite advanced for its … More

It was summer. I found myself on the top floor of the library, on the recommendation of a friend: … More

One year I decided that I would decorate one of my teaching rooms with my collection of Poems on the … More

I came across Hubert Moore’s fantastic book of poems The Hearing Room (Shoetstring, 2006) via my friend and neighbour Lawrence Sail. In … More