Open letter to Arthur Frank (on reading At the Will of the Body)

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

What is a lifesaving poem?

Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More

Nine years ago today I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells. Even though I have … More

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

The other day I was asked what I look for in poetry. Needing to give a quick answer I said: I … More

I am not at a thing. The things have dried up (or I have stopped going). I am thingless. I … More

A scan, with different initials. The train journey to it, biting nails; the one back pretending not to be radioactive. … More

Jörn Cann wasn’t my friend. He was my doctor. He was famous before we even met him as the doctor … More