Last Sunday I attended the last ever group meeting and reading of the Mincing Poets, in Exeter. A classic … More
Tag: Lifesaving Poets
Guest blog post: A Mentor: Anthony Glavin, by Mark Granier
Recently, I took our 11-year old boy to see the Turners in the National Gallery of Ireland. These 31 watercolours … More
Aldeburgh and silence
Mark Doty had it. And John Hartley Williams. And Esther Morgan. And Roy Blackman, introducing Mark Doty talking about Whitman. … More
I quit
I am at a thing. A historic thing. (An historic thing? I will never know). Poets are there. Household names. … More
My hero: Michael Laskey
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
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
Lifesaving Poets: Gerard Benson
I was saddened to hear of the death of Gerard Benson last week. A poet and anthologist, he was probably … More
Publish more!
I was at a thing recently. Not my thing, a good thing. Luminosity filled the evening. In the pouring of … More
Gratitude
I’m grateful to you, you see. I wanted to tell you. –Raymond Carver (‘For Tess’) A kind, wise man once … More
Lifesaving Poems: Michael Donaghy’s ‘Machines’
The most fun I have ever seen a poet have at their own reading (with the possible exception of Jackie … More
Lifesaving Poems: Philip Levine’s ‘Magpiety’
In September 2006 my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma came to an end. I was not told I was officially in … More
Falling in love with Holub’s ‘Love’
I was lucky. I was taught English in one of those classrooms with complete sets of A Taste of Honey, … More