Another look at Lux’s ‘An Horatian Notion’

One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … More

Lifesaving Poems: Ellen Doré Watson’s ‘Be Here First’

Be Here First   I don’t know my trees but I know my trees. Their angling for what has spurned them; their spitting … More

Lifesaving Poems: Chrissy Williams’s ‘The Burning of the Houses’

The Burning Of The Houses Tottenham is on fire and I work in an arts centre where the sky is … More

Why we need Aldeburgh

Dan O’Brien began by saying he wasn’t really a poet, but a ‘moonlighting playwright’. Selima Hill took out her glasses, … More

The woman at the workshop

I am at a thing. Not a famous thing, but an important one nevertheless. People are there, people you and … More

Mostly all the time nearly everything

Everyone who enters the stage begins by saying thank you * That silence * Mostly nearly all the time * … More

On poetry and blogging

In preparation for this year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival I was asked some questions about my blogging by Festival programmer Dean … More

Poetry and tennis

On the Sunday morning of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival I breakfasted with poets discussing the theme of writing poetry and … More

Poetry and disobedience

Early on Saturday morning of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival (Tom Pickard threatened not to get up in time) Robert Seatter … More

An interview with Adélia Prado

On the Saturday afternoon of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, Festival Director Naomi Jaffa conducted an interew with Adélia Prado, and … More

The soldier, the cauliflower, the walking, the monkey and the man’s bottom

Sitting over toast and marmalade with Peter Sansom yesterday morning he said to me: ‘I don’t bother with novels any … More

The Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2014

On the basis of these five first collections, there is no reason to assume the careers of the poets who … More

Introducing Chrissy Williams

The Burning Of The Houses Tottenham is on fire and I work in an arts centre where the sky is … More

Aldeburgh and silence

Mark Doty had it. And John Hartley Williams. And Esther Morgan. And Roy Blackman, introducing Mark Doty talking about Whitman. … More

Allan Ahlberg’s genius

Photo credit: Felix Clay, The Guardian   Heard I can’t remember a time in my teaching career when there wasn’t … More

Ellen Doré Watson’s ‘Be Here First’

Ellen Doré Watson was a new name to me until recently. ‘Be Here First ‘ is a good example of … More

Poetry and illness

Medicine The black hair of my Chinese doctor gleams like combed ink as he leans over his desk, with quick … More

On judging

I have been asked to judge a thing. A good thing. A serious thing. (But this isn’t about that. We … More