Advent poems 17: Ultramarine, by Michael Symmons Roberts

Ultramarine for Philip Archer Looking for the perfect blue, water to swim in, not through, to fill his … More

Not a ‘thin’ year for poetry

It was one of those throwaway remarks made by one writer, male, to another, ditto, in one of those books … More

Two readings stood out for me in 2013. The first was at an arts centre in the middle of nowhere … More

I’m grateful to you, you see. I wanted to tell you. –Raymond Carver (‘For Tess’) A kind, wise man once … More

I heard Michael Symmons Roberts give a magisterial reading from his book Drysalter recently. It was exemplary on so many levels, not … More

I love watching poets having fun. Think of Don Paterson shooting the breeze with Bill Herbert in the South Bank … More

I came across Michael Symmons Roberts‘s ‘Ultramarine’ during a stint as poetry editor for Third Way magazine. Like nearly everything … More

I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More