The Year of Living Deeply 6: When One Book Leads to Another Book

I have been writing recently about going deeper, not wider. Listening to music I already possess, reading the books already … More

The Year of Living Deeply 13: Reading the books I already possess

As I was saying the book that I bought and then did not read and which caught my eye recently is Now … More

The book is looking at me from across the room. It is dressed smartly, but not to impress. It looks … More

Remember when you got the news of the accident- or the illness- in the life of someone more laced into … More

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

We are in Richard and Andi’s kitchen in their minuscule flat on the Wandsworth Road in the early nineties. Richard … More

S … More

As promised last week, here is my presentation of the paper I co-wrote with Sue Dymoke in which we argue on … More

Listening to the wonderful array of speakers at the Foyle Young Poets symposium on Monday, I tried to think back … More

‘Even the poetic world is social’ (Bakhtin, 1981, 300). This time next week, Saturday 23 June, I will be presenting … More

It is odd to speak of missing someone you never met, but this is how I feel about the American … More

My first reader was a man called Fergus. A friend of a flatmate at university, I never got to … More

Here is a story about a recent failure of mine. It all started with an idea, which I knew, just … More

‘What else are you guilty about?’ ‘Most things,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t stop with poetry, you know. Or those unread … More

’Anything else?’ the book says. ’What do you mean?’ ’That you want to tell me?’ There is a long silence, … More

‘What else are you not telling me?’ says the book. ‘Nothing,’ I say. The book rolls its eyes, gives a … More

‘What you reading?’ says the book. ‘Nothing.’ ‘No need to be shy,’ says the book. ‘Go on, what is it?’ … More

‘What’s wrong?’ says the book. ‘Nothing,’ I say. ‘Liar.’ ‘Am not.’ ‘Are.’ ‘Aren’t.’ ‘Pants on fire. You’re hopeless. You should … More