I am delighted to have a new poem Writing Research Across Borders (2014): Poster Sessions in Hinterland With thanks to Judi Sutherland … More
Tag: Being a Writer
Past fifty
Well, it’s happening. Happened, I mean. Stuff I thought would last forever -film titles, the actors in them, scenes of … More
Adélia Prado’s tone
She started as a name. There I was, following my nose, minding my own business, trying to ignore all instincts … More
Influences: Alan Booth
Alan Booth wasn’t the first teacher to teach me something, but he was the first who drew me into the … More
Influences: Peter Bourke
In 1991 we moved to a house in Brixton, south London. Of all our welcomes, that of our neighbour, the … More
Lifesaving Poems: the book
Photograph © Bloodaxe Books Ltd I am delighted to announce that my Lifesaving Poems series of blog posts has now become … More
Just one thing
It all started with two remarks, one by a friend, the other by a stranger at work. ß The friend’s … More
Not exactly fearless
Someone who knows me very well knocked me sideways with a comment the other day. Remarking on this blog, … More
It is summer for months
It Is Summer for Months Clothes are skimpy and tans are gotwithout flight bags.We saunter beside a canalwhere horses pull … More
Lifesaving Poems: Naomi Shihab Nye’s ‘The Art of Disappearing’
The Art of Disappearing When they say Don’t I know you?say no. When they invite you to the partyremember what … More
Thingless
I am not at a thing. The things have dried up (or I have stopped going). I am thingless. I … More
How to disappear
The review isn’t exactly vicious as such, merely purely personal and savage. It stops short of questioning your parentage, but … More
The poem always wins
You think it will be about your childhood. It turns out to be about an onion. Or a night in … More
It has gone
For now, at least, it has gone. The notebooks with promising phrases, the backs of envelopes with doodles: they are … More
After the thing
I have finished the thing. People come up to me to say things. It seems to have gone well. While … More
A curry with Matthew Sweeney
I am in the pub with Rupert. We are talking about planning a thing. It’s definitely going to happen. A … More
The burnt horizon
I am at a thing. It is my thing, contributing to the thing of others, who I do not know. … More
Hated by the book
The book is not in love with me. I shower it with love and promises of more stationery, but all … More