‘What drives you?’ says the book. ‘Haven’t we been here before?’ ‘What drives you?’ ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Never more,’ says … More
Tag: Don Paterson
Pure distraction
In the rift between what is going to happen and whatever we would wish to happen, poetry holds attention for … 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: Martyn Crucefix’s ‘Sugar in Banana Sandwiches’
Sugar in Banana Sandwiches ‘Still something of the child in you’ she says. I find that hard to swallow … More
Don Paterson’s ‘Oh God’ moment
The most immediate and forthright analysis of a poem I have seen at any poetry workshop occurred as I passed … 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: Don Paterson’s ‘Heliographer’
W.H. Auden once said that writers should always be honest, even about their prejudices. So here is my confession: when … More
Lifesaving Poems
I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More