Why did I write it down?, by Joan Didion

Why did I write it down? In order to remember. Of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to … More

A book into which everything can go, by Thomas Merton

It is necessary to write a book in which there will be a little less of the first person singular, … More

Last week I gave up writing. For about a day. I had been given a book by one of my … More

At the start of each academic year, usually when I have known them for a week or so, I make … More

An event of this magnitude Overshadows the destruction of the Berlin Wall And the troubles in the Caucasus. –Robert Rehder, … More

Day four of the Twitter-fast. By the time you read this, day seven. The first thing I notice is the … More

This is the second in a series of Guest Blog Posts that I am hosting this year. More are … More

My deep thanks to Maria Taylor, who has written the most lovely appreciation of Lifesaving Poems. Thank you Maria for capturing its … More

I have been moving. Not moving house, moving within it. Stuff has come with me, some of it has vanished … More

I am having a clear out. I am putting my notebooks, drafts and scraps of paper into a box file. … More

The book has been working at my desk, which means it looks as though I have been burgled. ‘I can’t … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work … More

I met the furniture designer Duncan Kramer at summer camp. Not as kids but as what we laughingly called leaders. … More

Readers of this blog will know I have been thinking a lot about stationery recently. (Actually, that is something of … More

My blog post yesterday about the stationery thing provoked more responses than I ever imagined it would. Among the … More