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

I thought of it before I knew I had remembered it. Just the word ‘then’. Rereading and searching at speed … More

I was very saddened to learn today that the leading Estonian poet Jaan Kaplinski has died, aged 80, of motor … More

after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind.Write about what you learned at university.Or did not … More

Here are some links from my archive to keep you going while I summon the energy and wherewithal to get … More

Dear Friends Like the closed down (but still creative) shop window of Top Shop I saw on an early morning … More

Intense Look out here comes that bloke with the worn out eyes. He’s always coming ’round here with his talk … More

Before I start, I want to say that this is not about stats. This is not about stats. What this … More

Here are the blog posts that you read most in 2020 As I click through the links I am surprised … More

Fourth Sunday in Advent This was another good week. Because it had rest in it. Because I re-read Anne Lamott’s … More

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 It is a July night scented with gardenias. The moon and stars shine hiding … More

What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and listento … More

Before No shoes and a glossyred helmet, I rodeon the back of my dad’sHarley at seven years old.Before the divorce.Before … More

First There is a holiness to exhaustion is what I keep telling myself, filling out the form so my TA … More

Tollund That Sunday morning we had travelled far. We stood a long time out in Tollund Moss: The low ground, … More

Be Kind Not merely because Henry James saidthere were but four rules of life—be kind be kind be kind be … More