What you read in 2022

Here are the blog posts from 2022 that you read most often Lifesaving Lines: The Death of Fred Clifton, by … More

Lifesaving Lines: Edge, by Sylvia Plath

But first came Plath. After Ursuala Le Guin, the only female author we studied (OK – Jane Austen). Her name … More

I went home the other day. I mean home-home, where I was born, and where my parents still live. … More

I have to be honest and say that, in the light of yesterday’s US Election result, I am tempted to … More

‘It’s even true of Ted Hughes.’ I look across at the book, whose head is now slumped on my desk, … More

‘Are you going to do one?’ ‘Who let you in?’ ‘Are you?’ The book has its feet up on my … More

Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More

During the Christmas period I am reposting some old posts from my archive. Wishing all my readers a very happy … More

I began writing the Lifesaving Poems posts in May, 2011. Below is a list of the twenty most popular poems … More

I have not read a book in six months -Raymond Carver, ‘Drinking While Driving’ I can still remember the shock … More

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

I became interested in Robert Lowell’s poetry because of the criticism of Seamus Heaney. I had tried reading him before, … More

Wind This house has been far out at sea all night,The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills,Winds stampeding the … More

I think my first bout of Poetry Exhaustion occurred sometime after my A levels. Our English paper was quite advanced for its … More

I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More