Craving silence

‘So I was thinking,’ the book says. ‘Going anywhere nice for Christmas?’ ’Do you want a lift somewhere?’ I say. … More

What you read in 2018

Here are my most frequently-read blog posts of 2018, according to my WordPress stats. First, from the Lifesaving Poems … More

After what feels like a very long wait since the publication of Riddance in 2012, I am delighted to be publishing … More

Next year is going to be a big year for me. I am going to have two new books out … More

‘Do you mind if I ask you a question?’ the book says. ‘Why are you wearing my slippers?’ I say. … More

I am lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, detoxing from the day, as I do. ‘You all right?’ … More

As I was saying the book that I bought and then did not read and which caught my eye recently is Now … More

The book is looking at me from across the room. It is dressed smartly, but not to impress. It looks … More

So in an effort to live deeply and not widely, amongst other things I have been looking at the shelves … More

Remember when you got the news of the accident- or the illness- in the life of someone more laced into … More

Below Zero We are at a party that doesn’t love us. At last the party lets its mask drop and … More

The Curtain Falls Suddenly a life is over – Ends with such serious charades The Dean makes lame quips … More

As promised last week, here is my presentation of the paper I co-wrote with Sue Dymoke in which we argue on … More

‘Even the poetic world is social’ (Bakhtin, 1981, 300). This time next week, Saturday 23 June, I will be presenting … More

Poem Without Sleep All the things that could happen to the baby came to me last night as I … More

It is odd to speak of missing someone you never met, but this is how I feel about the American … More

Reading Frank O’Hara in the Hospital 1 The IV drips its slow news. So long, lean and turbulent morning! … More

In a Church No, no time for this the outside clamours to be heard, the books, you see, … More