Today was not a normal day of work for me. Instead of teaching my amazing students, I chose to participate … More
Tag: Lifesaving Poems
A new review of Lifesaving Poems… from 2015
A huge shout out and massive thank you to Maria Taylor and her wonderful Commonplace blog, where yesterday I discovered … More
Lifesaving Lines: Stone, I Presume, by Ian Mcmillan
For several weeks before Christmas I had these words from Ian McMillan’s peerless ‘Stone, I Presume’ rattling around my head. … More
Lifsaving Lines: For Sheridan, by Robert Lowell
The line that’s been buzzing round my head the last couple of weeks is from Robert Lowell’s heartbreaking poem ‘For … More
Lifesaving Lines: Why We Must Write, by Mark Halliday
I thought of it before I knew I had remembered it. Just the word ‘then’. Rereading and searching at speed … More
RIP Jaan Kaplinski
I was very saddened to learn today that the leading Estonian poet Jaan Kaplinski has died, aged 80, of motor … More
Writing prompts (blog post ending with a line by Shawna Lemay)
after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind.Write about what you learned at university.Or did not … More
Summer links from the archive
Here are some links from my archive to keep you going while I summon the energy and wherewithal to get … More
The blank space
Dear Friends Like the closed down (but still creative) shop window of Top Shop I saw on an early morning … More
Lifesaving Poems: Richard Nicholson’s Intense
Intense Look out here comes that bloke with the worn out eyes. He’s always coming ’round here with his talk … More
Poem of the year?
Before I start, I want to say that this is not about stats. This is not about stats. What this … More
What you read in 2020
Here are the blog posts that you read most in 2020 As I click through the links I am surprised … More
Another good week
Fourth Sunday in Advent This was another good week. Because it had rest in it. Because I re-read Anne Lamott’s … More
Seeds of hope
Introducing Seeds of Hope, the second anthology of poems, prayers, reflections and provocations from the human rights organisation Amos Trust. … More
The Sky Over My Mother’s House
The Sky Over My Mother’s House It is a July night scented with gardenias. The moon and stars shine hiding … More
What you missed
What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and listento … More
Before
Before No shoes and a glossyred helmet, I rodeon the back of my dad’sHarley at seven years old.Before the divorce.Before … More
A holiness to exhaustion
First There is a holiness to exhaustion is what I keep telling myself, filling out the form so my TA … More