There isn’t much left to be done. The proof reading, the book blurbs (they take longer than the poems), the … More
Tag: Poets
Poems from The Afterlife
After what feels like a very long wait since the publication of Riddance in 2012, I am delighted to be publishing … More
The Wacky Races
When Riddance came out in 2012 people said some very nice and kind things about it. But that is not … More
Proof(s)
I have been doing the proofs to my new books. And I am scared. Scared that I have got it … More
The Year of Living Deeply 20: Poems hatch – a found poem by Marge Piercy
Poems hatch Poems hatch from memory, fantasy, the need to communicate with the living, the dead, the unborn. Poems come … More
The Year of Living Deeply 21: Some James Schuyler resources
My James Schuyler obsession continues. (So is my adoration of blogs about pencils, but that is another story.) Below are … More
The Year of Living Deeply 24: Go to poet?
I think I will write you a letter, June day. Dear June Fifth, you’re all green, so many kinds and … More
The Year of Living Deeply 14: Which artists do you admire most?
I have been reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life recently. In it she asks … More
The Year of Living Deeply 16: I have carried it with me each day
I have carried it with me each day, that sense of shame about the fact that I write, that it … More
The Year of Living Deeply 15: You don’t have that kind of time
About a month before my friend Pammy died, she said something that may have permanently changed me. We had … More
In memory of Les Murray
I was saddened to hear of the death of the Australian poet Les Murray yesterday. In the autumn of 1997, … More
Advertisement (LentBlog33)
I wrote the poem below in the summer of 2015. David Cameron had won a slim majority in the … More
Open letter to Alicia Stubbersfield (LentBlog31)
Dear Alicia I can’t believe it is three years since I got to hang out with you at Totleigh … More
Writing prompts (blog post ending with a line by Shawna Lemay) (LentBlog29)
after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind. Write about what you learned at university. … More
Open letter to Ted Hughes (LentBlog27)
Dear Ted Hughes You probably won’t remember me. I wrote to you before, in the summer of 1998. I did … More
Why we need to save the Poetry Business (LentBlog26)
after Mark Halliday Because of the writing days. And because The discovery will not happen on its own, unprompted, … More
Meditation on a line by Sherwood Anderson (LentBlog20)
‘I’m trying again. A man has to begin over and over – to try to think and feel only in … More
Meditation on a line by Rebecca Goss (LentBlog15)
Towards the end of her Greenbelt Festival poetry reading Q and A with Sasha Dugdale in 2017, Rebecca Goss said … More