The class of my dreams

The Class to the Class of 2014 after Raymond Carver The class with beautiful scarves The class who learned … More

The poem always wins

You think it will be about your childhood. It turns out to be about an onion. Or a night in … More

I have finished the thing. People come up to me to say things. It seems to have gone well. While … More

I am at a thing. I have been asked to read a couple of poems. It is not my thing, … More

I am being pursued by the poem. It has been there for several years now, asking to be written. I … More

Having not succeeded at school, I’ve always thought of poetry as the holidays, rather than term-time. Hugo Williams I went … More

Dear Anthony Two cycles down, just six more to go. You are not looking bad, considering. The belligerent doctor who … More

I listened to the most wonderful radio programme about failure the other day. It featured Anne Enright talking with clear-eyed … More

Lately I have been pondering the practice of paying attention, vis-à-vis my habit of keeping a notebook to capture impressions, … 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

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

Twilight Three minutes ago it was almost dark. Now all the darkness is in the leaves (there are no … More

Dear Ant So you’ve had your first chemotherapy treatment. That first night, when you came home and carried the sick … More

My wife and I are at the airport of a European capital city. It’s late on a Friday evening, the … More

The Day After I made a leek and potato soup the day after, prompted by the look of the peeled … More

Gift A day so happy.Fog lifted early. I worked in the garden.Hummingbirds were stopping over the honeysuckle flowers.There was no … More

Once upon a time I broke the rules and spoke with another poet (it doesn’t matter who) about a … More