The Year of Living Deepy 2: Re-reading Tomas Tranströmer

Below Zero We are at a party that doesn’t love us. At last the party lets its mask drop and … More

The Half-Finished Heaven, by Tomas Tranströmer

The Half-Finished Heaven Despondency breaks off its course. Anguish breaks off its course. The vulture breaks off its flight. … More

Tracks 2 am: moonlight. The train has stopped out in the middle of the plain. Far away, points of … More

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the ‘poets I go back to’ idea, that I first came across in … More

‘We are at a party that doesn’t love us’ – Tomas Tranströmer We are at a thing. Not a … More

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

‘I’ve stopped listening to the radio!’ ‘What, completely?’ the book says. ‘Not completely, I’m not an idiot,’ I say. … More

Breathing Space July The man who lies on his back under huge trees is also up in them. He … More

‘I’ve been out,’ says the book. ‘So I see,’ I say. The book is dressed in a pith helmet and … More

Here is a list of the most-read Lifesaving Poems during 2015: Mary Oliver, The Journey UA Fanthorpe, Atlas Ted Hughes, … More

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

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

During the Christmas period I am reposting some old posts from my archive. Wishing all my readers a very happy … More

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

I have not read a book in six months -Raymond Carver, ‘Drinking While Driving’ I can still remember the shock … More

‘We are at a party that doesn’t love us‘ – Tomas Tranströmer We are at a thing. Not a poetry … More

Gift A day so happy. Fog lifted early. I worked in the garden. Hummingbirds were stopping over the honeysuckle flowers. … More

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

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

These are the most read Lifesaving Poems posts of 2013. Mary Oliver, ‘The Journey’ I first read this on … More

Colin Mallett, Sculptor The poets I go back to This article first appeared in the North magazine, in November 2007. … More