When Riddance came out in 2012 people said some very nice and kind things about it. But that is not … More
Tag: Being a Poet
Proof(s)
I have been doing the proofs to my new books. And I am scared. Scared that I have got it … More
On not tweeting: Open letter to Twitter
And what will I miss? Her cruelty, her unfaithfulnessHer fun, her love, her kiss, part company The Go-Betweens, Part Company … More
Nothing
‘What are you doing?’ says the book. ‘Nothing.’ ‘Doesn’t look like it.’ ‘Listening to the cricket,’ if you must know. … More
The Year of Living Deeply 20: Poems hatch – a found poem by Marge Piercy
Poems hatch Poems hatch frommemory, fantasy, theneed to communicatewith the living,the dead, the unborn.Poems come directly outof daily life, fromthe … More
The Year of Living Deeply 21: Some James Schuyler resources
My James Schuyler obsession continues. (So is my adoration of blogs about pencils, but that is another story.) Below are … More
The Year of Living Deeply 24: Go to poet?
I think I will write you a letter,June day. Dear June Fifth,you’re all green, somany kinds and all onegreen, tree … More
The Year of Living Deeply 14: Which artists do you admire most?
I have been reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life recently. In it she asks … More
The Year of Living Deeply 16: I have carried it with me each day
I have carried it with me each day, that sense of shame about the fact that I write, that it … More
The Year of Living Deeply 15: You don’t have that kind of time
About a month before my friend Pammy died, she said something that may have permanently changed me. We had … More
In memory of Les Murray
I was saddened to hear of the death of the Australian poet Les Murray yesterday. In the autumn of 1997, … More
The Year of Living Deeply 11: In the taxi with Twyla Tharp
I have been thinking a lot about habits recently. The unconscious, unthinking ones which, as Sylvia Plath said about words, … More
The Year of Living Deeply 10: A week without –
I have just started reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for life. Like those other classics … More
Open letter to Alicia Stubbersfield (LentBlog31)
Dear Alicia I can’t believe it is three years since I got to hang out with you at Totleigh … More
Writing prompts (blog post ending with a line by Shawna Lemay) (LentBlog29)
after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind.Write about what you learned at university.Or did … More
Open letter to Ted Hughes (LentBlog27)
Dear Ted Hughes You probably won’t remember me. I wrote to you before, in the summer of 1998. I did … More
Why we need to save the Poetry Business (LentBlog26)
after Mark Halliday Because of the writing days. And becauseThe discovery will not happen on its own, unprompted,Not even … More
My Brexit week off (LentBlog25)
I’ll admit it straight away: I didn’t last the whole week. Sometime on Friday evening I switched the radio … More
