The lullaby

I have not left the house in days. I can hear the book pacing around upstairs, but neither of us … More

Identical pizza crusts

It has been a long day. Arriving home late and wanting nothing more than a bath and an early night, … More

The book has vanished. I don’t mean left the house, or popped out to see a friend. I mean vanished. … More

I have made the book a peace offering. I snuck out while it was sleeping, found my way back to … More

It is my turn to go out for a walk. The book has slept late, and, not for the first … More

We are at the flat. Everything has worked out fine: the journey, our connections and now amazing sense of space. We … More

‘Passport?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Flight info?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Euros?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Underpants?’ The book glares at me. ‘What do you take me for?’ ‘It … More

The book has had a fall, and now we are sitting in a waiting room, waiting to be seen. This … More

Recently I have been reading the exquisite prose of Janna Malamud Smith, in her book-length meditation on creativity: An Absorbing Errand: … More

We have left the house. At first our walking is clumsy, comical, even. The book is three yards ahead of … More

Yesterday I listened to a dialogue between Debbie Millman and Seth Godin on art-making, resistance, anxiety, how the internet has changed … More

The book and I are passing each other messages through a third party. Neither of us bothers with the niceties … More

I am visiting the book. We have already been through a lot together, including the part where I killed it and … More

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More

I have murdered my darling. Like a bird of a certain blue vintage, it is ex, dead, kaput, finished. The … More

One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … More

Cut through to what happens when you listen. Cut through to making it happen, listening for it, failing, then doing … More

Dear Ant Looking forward to 2015 it’s tempting to think it will never reach the heights of 2014. Big mistake. Huge. … More