Answering Back

Seth Godin says in The Icarus Deception that however many good reviews you are lucky to get for your work, it … More

Another look at Tranströmer’s ‘Alone’

I have been thinking a lot recently about Tomas Tranströmer’s poem ‘Alone’. When I first read it I was taken … More

If you’re not enough without the gold medal, you’ll never be enough with it. – John Candy, Cool Runnings I did not … More

In September 2006 my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma came to an end. I was not told I was officially in … More

Seven Ways of Reading Gillian Allnutt: How The Bicycle Shone: New and Selected Poems (Bloodaxe; 216pp; £12) 1 It’s … More

Elegy for Jane(My student, thrown by a horse)I remember the neckcurls, limp and damp as tendrils;And her quick look, a … More

Sunday LunchtimeThe whirlpools of the launderettedo not recognise the Sabbath,so the air in Worple Streetsmells of soapsuds and roast beef.The … More

May the Silence Break Because you do not speakI know the shockof water encountering a rock. Supremacy of silence is … More

With Only One LifeHold with both handsThe tray of every dayAnd pass in turnAlong this counter.There is enough sunFor everybody.There … More