How to be a writing tutor

Thanks to the vision and generosity of Jean Sprackland, between 1999-2001 I had the privilege of working with the great … More

The power of poetry (free download) #NATEconf

Here are the text and ppt presentations of my NATE Conference 2014 keynote speech on The Power of Poetry. PDF … More

I am at a thing. It is my thing, contributing to the thing of others, who I do not know. … More

‘We are at a party that doesn’t love us‘ – Tomas Tranströmer We are at a thing. Not a poetry … More

I am completely torn apart -Rupert Loydell When I first read Raymond Carver’s Fires I loved and understood all of it, … More

I was saddened to hear of the death of Gerard Benson last week. A poet and anthologist, he was probably … More

When Ezra Pound claimed that ‘Poetry is news that stays news’ it is likely he was thinking of Katy Evans-Bush’s Baroque … More

Having not succeeded at school, I’ve always thought of poetry as the holidays, rather than term-time. Hugo Williams I went … More

Lately I have been pondering the practice of paying attention, vis-à-vis my habit of keeping a notebook to capture impressions, … More

Readers of this blog will know I have been thinking a lot about stationery recently. (Actually, that is something of … More

At the start of each academic year, usually when I have known them for a week or so, I make … More

I was very saddened to learn recently of the death of Michael Baldwin, the novelist, poet, writing tutor and former … More

I once heard Andrew Motion give a poetry reading at a day-conference for teachers, writers and writers in education. There … More

The most immediate and forthright analysis of a poem I have seen at any poetry workshop occurred as I passed … More

Damp white imprints dog the feet; snowbound trolley, snowbound street. Her tip of glove to lip and cheek, “Goodbye.” Go. … More

When I visit schools to read and talk about poetry there is often some sort of Q and A following … More

Things I Learned at University How to bike on cobblestones and where to signal right. How to walk through doors … More

Hysteria As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her … More