Guest blog post: Andrew Waterhouse and the seventh syllable, by Helena Nelson

I am delighted to welcome Helena Nelson to continue our series on overlooked poets.   Andrew Waterhouse and the Seventh … More

Laskey

Some writers influence you through the pull of their imagination on your work, opening up new worlds as you read … More

Guest blog post: Christ the Diet Coke Man – why I read Aemilia Lanyer, by John Field

Continuing the series of guest blog posts on overlooked poets, I am delighted to welcome John Field of Poor Rude … More

Living and breathing Arvon

  ‘I’ve been at the field.’ This, spoken by one of the teachers on last week’s writing residential at Totleigh … More

Giving up writing

Last week I gave up writing. For about a day. I had been given a book by one of my … More

Guest blog post: Away with the Dinosaurs, by Chrissy Williams

I am delighted to welcome Chrissy Williams to enthuse about a poet who may be unfamiliar to UK readers. – … More

Lifesaving Poems: Langston Hughes’s ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’

The Negro Speaks of Rivers   I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the … More

Lifesaving Poems: Pablo Neruda’s ‘The Dead Woman’ (La Muerta)

The Dead Woman If suddenly you do not exist,if suddenly you no longer live,I shall live on. I do not … More

Lifesaving Poems: Kenneth Rexroth’s ‘The Advantages of Learning’

  The Advantages of Learning I am a man with no ambitions And few friends, wholly incapable Of making a … More

An interview with Poetry Spotlight

This is the opening question and answer to an interview with Paul Clyne of Poetry Spotlight, published today. With thanks … More

Guest blog post: A Mentor: Anthony Glavin, by Mark Granier

Recently, I took our 11-year old boy to see the Turners in the National Gallery of Ireland. These 31 watercolours … More

Out of the Crocodile’s Mouth: a discussion of poetry, education and children, with Michael Rosen and Marina Boroditskaya -from MPT Magazine

Last year MPT Magazine published a brilliant edition wholly dedicated to children’s poetry (Number 2, 2015), titled I Wish… It was one of … More

The fear of poetry -by Muriel Rukeyser

The Fear of Poetry In this moment when we face horizons and conflicts wider than ever before, we want our … More

Dark horses: 21 Lifesaving Poems which should be better known

Readers of this blog will know that I make a list at the end of each year showing the most … More

Guest blog post: David Ferry’s ‘Lake Water’, by Martyn Crucefix

This is the second in a series of guest blog posts about poets who have been overlooked and who should … More

Researching writers’ engagement with teachers: the Teachers as Writers research project

    Along with colleagues from the Arvon Foundation, The Open University and University of Exeter I have just begun … More

Guest blog post: Ted Walker – An Appreciation, by Mike Ferguson

Today marks the start of a new series of guest blog posts on overlooked poets. With thanks to Mike Ferguson … More

New year letter

Dear Ant Well done for making it to the end of another year and the start of a new one. … More