And Yet the Books And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings,That appeared once, still wetAs … More
Tag: reading poems
Lifesaving Poems: Gwen Harwood’s ‘Cups’
Cups They know us by our lips. They know the proverb about the space between us. Many slip. They … More
Why must we write?
The poem that came into my mind on waking up this morning and hearing the General Election result is Mark … More
What is a lifesaving poem?
Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More
Mike Ferguson reviews Making Poetry Happen
‘Making Poetry Happen is a fundamental resource for all English teachers for the way if collates both thinking about … More
Poets in the audience
Though I am reading from it, the book is nowhere to be seen. As well as normal people, some poets … More
On Discovering My Voice
I am at a thing. Canals are there. Sunlight on them, the last tourists, a shifting of the seasons. ‘Soon … More
Lifesaving Poems: Craig Raine’s ‘Heaven on Earth’
Heaven on Earth Now that it is night, you fetch the wash from outer space, from the frozen … More
Why do it?
because of the words and because of the books because of the woman in the anorak at the swimming baths … More
Just another Wednesday
Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments … More
Lifesaving Poems: Boris Pasternak’s ‘Hamlet’
Hamlet The buzz subsides. I have come on stage. Leaning in an open door I try to detect from … More
Lifesaving Poems: Denise Levertov’s ‘The Secret’
The Secret Two girls discover the secret of life in a sudden line of poetry. I who don’t know the … More
After Paris
I found two blog posts especially moving in the aftermath of last week’s attacks in Paris, both by the same … More
Lifesaving Poems: Ellen Doré Watson’s ‘Be Here First’
Be Here First I don’t know my trees but I know my trees. Their angling for what has spurned them; their spitting … More
Finding Sharon Olds’s The Matter of This World
The Collection The Matter of This World: New and Selected Poems (Slow Dancer, 1987) I found The Matter of … More
Making Poetry Happen
Announcing the publication of Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the Poetry Classroom (Bloomsbury, 2015). Making Poetry Happen provides a valuable resource … More
Influences: my first reader
My first reader was a man called Fergus. A friend of a flatmate at university, I never got to … More
Lifesaving Poems: Chrissy Williams’s ‘The Burning of the Houses’
The Burning Of The Houses Tottenham is on fire and I work in an arts centre where the sky is … More
Lifesaving Poems 