from A New Guide 7 Look at this arch. It is part of a building more than seven hundred years old. … More
Tag: Creativity
The how of it
I was having a coffee with a new writer friend the other day. Not having known each other for … More
The year of not blogging
There’s a problem with that title, isn’t there? While I have not been completely silent (fifteen blog posts at most? … More
The Power and Potential of Poetry
This is The Power and Potential of Poetry , the talk I gave today at the Somerset Literacy Network annual conference. … More
What really matters?
I was on the phone to a writer friend the other week. In itself this is a rare occurrence: normally … More
Writing in the cracks
I was having a coffee with a new writer friend the other day. Not having known each other for very … More
Smith
Smith Objectionable, mercurial, fierce, wise, bandaged, solitary and irresistible, Phil Smith and I were not close. Only in our … More
What do I know?
One of the more interesting paradoxes of analysing the interviews of professional writers during the Teachers as Writers (TaW) … More
Creativity: a provocation
You can download the PowerPoint of my talk at Mount Kelly College, on 18 April 2017, here: Creativity_a provocation_Mount Kelly College_April … More
#NaBloPoMo 24 – See you later
Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo, that month in the year when someone decides it is a nice idea … More
#NaBloPoMo 23 – Prayer
Dear God Do you think you could fix it so that I might have some of Martin’s playfulness, his … More
#NaBloPoMo 22 – When Josephine Corcoran interviewed me
As we draw to the end of NaBloPoMo, I have invited Josephine Corcoran to collaborate with me on a joint-interview. … More
#NaBloPoMo 20 – On ambition
It wasn’t much of a day. I was in noodle-mode, sticking things into my day book, quotes and articles and … More
#NaBloPoMo 17 – Coffee? (meditation on a blog post by Josephine Corcoran)
If you came round for coffee these days you’d be offered decaff. Doctor’s orders, I’d say. And against my better … More
#NaBloPoMo 16 – To autumn
What I love about autumn is the night arriving early. What I hate about autumn is the day leaving even … More
#NaBloPoMo 13 – His notebook highlights strewn
Dean Paul Granny § ‘What students in classrooms say is an exceptionally precious learning resource. Every time a teacher receives … More
#NaBloPoMo 10 – I have no idea what I’m doing
A thought occurred to me as I found myself scribbling in a notebook earlier this morning: I have no idea … More
#NaBloPoMo 7 – The paradox of poetry, by Seamus Heaney
I have to be honest and say that, in the light of yesterday’s US Election result, I am tempted to … More