Lifesaving Lines: What the Living Do, by Marie Howe

Two great lines for the price of one (it is Christmas, after all) this week, from Marie Howe’s extraordinary poem … More

Lifesaving Lines: Indelible, Miraculous, by Julia Darling

I have been thinking a lot about the poetry of Julia Darling this week. Her work became essential to me … More

Thank you to everyone who has commented to me either publicly or in private about my new series of blog … More

I was at a thing. Very rarely for me, it was my own thing, only my second in front of … More

To continue this season of not, where I have been reposting old blog posts and links to some others, I … More

There were just a few of us in the room, gathered round a table. I had been invited to speak. … More

I am not completely stupid. I know celebrity culture is here to stay. As my children frequently remind me, ‘It … More

I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More

It wasn’t all rain. There were rainbows among which Shawna has blogged about fountain pens again. Honestly, she could do … More

Dear Cancer It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Fifteen years, to be precise. To the day. Amazing to realise it … More

Before I start, I want to say that this is not about stats. This is not about stats. What this … More

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

Courage It is in the small things we see it. The child’s first step, as awesome as an earthquake. … More

Phil has been round. I know this because we came home the other night to find a pack of Toffee … More

A little taster for you. This is an essay from my forthcoming book Deck Shoes. – I was having … More

Some of you will have seen this blog post before. It is a taster of some of the contents … More

Dear John Smith I was deeply saddened to hear that you died earlier this year in March. I am told … More

This being a Saturday in Lent, I am reposting a favourite blog post from my archives. See you after the … More