What we talk about when we talk about writing

The more I talk about writing with students, teachers, colleagues and other writers, the less I am sure that we … More

Hugo Williams

In the summer of 1986, when he was poetry editor of New Statesman and not long after Writing Home had … More

I do not stammer, but some of my earliest memories of speaking at school (‘What are eight sevens, Wilson?’) are … More

August 1914 What in our lives is burnt In the fire of this? The heart’s dear granary? The much we … More

Jack Palance: Do you know what the secret of life is? Billy Crystal: No, what? Jack Palance: This [he … More

A speech given at the NATE annual conference, June 2014 My early poetic experiences were not ‘poetic’ at … More

One of the joys of working on the Teachers as Writers project is that I get to steal. As … More

This isn’t about numbers, but my relationship with them. It isn’t about giving you a figure. (By the time you … More

When the Arvon student is put in posession of that creative self, which was hitherto inaccessible, two things, in particular, … More

I am returning to the pencil. The premise of which remark signifies consciousness that at some point I left the … More

Some writers influence you through the pull of their imagination on your work, opening up new worlds as you read … More

Continuing the series of guest blog posts on overlooked poets, I am delighted to welcome John Field of Poor Rude … More

‘I’ve been at the field.’ This, spoken by one of the teachers on last week’s writing residential at Totleigh … More

Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotyzing yourself and going over the … More

The Negro Speaks of Rivers I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the … More

The Advantages of Learning I am a man with no ambitions And few friends, wholly incapable Of making a … More

Last year MPT Magazine published a brilliant edition wholly dedicated to children’s poetry (Number 2, 2015), titled I Wish… It was one of … More

I am still not sure why, but in the middle of December I decided to take up running again. When … More