Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotyzing yourself and going over the … More
Tag: Carol Ann Duffy
Guest blog post: Whose life is it anyway? by John Foggin
A few weeks ago I was writing in my own blog, the great fogginzo’s cobweb, about the way I … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems
The central organising principle of Lifesaving Poems is that each poet is represented by a single poem. There are poets you … More
Lifesaving Poems: Craig Raine’s ‘Heaven on Earth’
Heaven on Earth Now that it is night, you fetch the wash from outer space, from the frozen … More
Just another Wednesday
Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments … More
The most popular Lifesaving Poems
I began writing the Lifesaving Poems posts in May, 2011. Below is a list of the twenty most popular poems … 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
Lifesaving Poems: Paul Muldoon’s ‘Paris’
I love watching poets having fun. Think of Don Paterson shooting the breeze with Bill Herbert in the South Bank … More
Lifesaving Poems: Simon Armitage’s ‘To His Lost Lover’
To His Lost Lover Now they are no longerany trouble to each other he can turn things over, get down … More
When poets disappear
Some of my favourite poetry books of all time are anthologies. Not the headline selections everybody has (and has to … More
Lifesaving Poems: Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Words, Wide Night’
Like a lot of people I first came across Carol Ann Duffy‘s ‘Words, Wide Night’ as a Poems on the … More
Lifesaving Poems
I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More