This time last year, I had begun a third period waiting for a response to a new manuscript of poems. … More
Tag: putting a collection together
Truly, Madly, Deeply
I am lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, detoxing from the day, as I do. ‘You all right?’ … More
Ten new poems
‘I’ve got some good news,’ the book says. ‘I’ve just written ten new poems.’ ‘Wow, that’s great,’ I say. ‘Are … More
Your worst book
‘I’m depressed,’ the book says. ‘We can’t both be depressed,’ I say. ‘One of us needs to function.’ ‘Well it’s not … More
I hope your new book is a disaster
‘How’s it going then?’ ‘What going?’ ‘Your ‘New Book’,’ says the book. ‘Fine, thanks,’ I say. ‘No early difficulties with … More
The book is fifty blog posts old
The adventures of the book have now clocked up fifty blog posts. Here is a list of all of them, … More
The voice you hear when you write
Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotyzing yourself and going over the … More
‘I’m your new book!’
‘Hullo!’ says the book. ‘Have we been introduced?’ I say. ‘I’m your new book!’ ‘But I haven’t finished the last … More
What you read in 2015
This blog would be nothing without its readers. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, made a comment or a … More
Am I a poet?
A friend recently asked me if I was writing. I replied, as I always do, saying that it was going … More
Guest posts and summer reading
As I did last year, I will be taking a break from uploading new posts to this blog over August. … More
Guest Post: How I put The Art of Falling together, by Kim Moore
How I put The Art of Falling together In May 2012 my first pamphlet If We Could Speak Like Wolves … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems 2
Artwork by Angus Joseph Alongside each poem in Lifesaving Poems is a short commentary about how I came across … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems
The central organising principle of Lifesaving Poems is that each poet is represented by a single poem. There are poets you … More
The Parable of the Book (free eBook)
For those of you who have been enjoying my series of adventures with ‘the book’, here is a free eBook … More
Nothing to say
‘You’re late,’ the new book says. It is seated at my desk, sleeves rolled up, a mug of steaming coffee … More
The new book
It is drizzling. The house is empty, the road outside quiet. It’s just as the book said it would be, … More
We’re done
Ordinary morning sounds from outside drift into the room where I am working. Birdsong. A car being parked. The noise … More