‘80% of success is showing up.’ -Woody Allen I was chatting with a student the other day when I said … More
Category: Writing
What I learned this week
That CK Williams has died. More than two weeks ago! One of my heroes. This is the first thing I … More
Guest blog post: Poetry and Work, by Shawna Lemay
Poetry and Work I recently took out a book via Interlibrary loan called, The Mind at Work: Valuing the … More
Guest blog post: Travelling without a visa, by Finuala Dowling
Travelling without a visa It seems to me that all writing comes from a place of resistance inside – … More
Am I a poet?
A friend recently asked me if I was writing. I replied, as I always do, saying that it was going … More
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
Nothing doing
Sporting occasions are bad. Or the Corbyn result, that was hard. I seem to remember (no one else does) a … More
Guest blog post: Whose life is it anyway? by John Foggin
A few weeks ago I was writing in my own blog, the great fogginzo’s cobweb, about the way I … More
Lifesaving Poems: Myra Schneider’s ‘Goulash’
Goulash A crucial ingredient is the right frame of mind so abandon all ideas of getting on. Stop pedalling, dismount, … More
This may not work
Since I decided to leave Twitter and abscond from Facebook I have been reminded of some of the guiding principles … More
Let’s love today
Let’s love today, the what we have now, this day, not today or tomorrow or yesterday, but this passing moment, … More
Mostly when I’m tired
This is my hard time -Theodore Roethke The mornings I can cope with. Just. Not grabbing my phone before … More
Noticing again
Day four of the Twitter-fast. By the time you read this, day seven. The first thing I notice is the … More
What I have learned about remission
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
It’s not about you, it’s me: on saying goodbye to Twitter
What I want is to – to be present. That’s what I’ve learned. I want to strive for presence, now, … More
Guest blog post: Writing my way through bereavement, by Sue Hepworth
Writing my way through bereavement I don’t approve of death. I’m with Edna St Vincent Millay: I am not … More
Nearly back to normal
The end. That’s what the August Bank Holiday means to me. A stiffer breeze in the mornings. The lawn littered with … More