Teaching paying attention

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

Paying attention

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

Phil Bowen gave me this poem, written by a ten-year-old girl, in 1998 to illustrate a writing game he submitted … More

A comment Mark Robinson made in the days following Seamus Heaney’s death in August resonated with me. He said he … More

Timetable We all remember school, of course: the lino warming, shoe bag smell, expanse of polished floor. It’s where we … More

Occasionally the entrance of a poem into your life is a combination of a series of tiny events, each of … More

As I said the other day, Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds is one of the most important books in my life. As I … More

Sometime in 1997 I went to hear Kevin Crossley-Holland give a reading at Exeter Central Library. I’d heard he was … More

I once heard Stephen Knight say ‘If I am reading well then I am writing well.’ It was a Q … More

One CigaretteNo smoke without you, my fire.After you left,your cigarette glowed on in my ashtrayand sent up a long thread … More