Advent meditation 2

One of the things I have learned about myself in the last year or so is that I can sometimes … More

At the teach out

Today I had one of the most precious teaching experiences of my life. Because we are taking strike action … More

Settee in Autumn The leaves change colour and fall on the russet settee. Sticky buds are stuck … More

Dear Alicia I can’t believe it is three years since I got to hang out with you at Totleigh … More

I was on the phone to a writer friend the other week. In itself this is a rare occurrence: normally … More

I found myself in the position of giving feedback to some writers recently. The writers were teachers who had signed … More

I was having a coffee with a new writer friend the other day. Not having known each other for very … More

One of the more interesting paradoxes of analysing the interviews of professional writers during the Teachers as Writers (TaW) … More

‘I’ve been reading Wallace Stevens.’ ‘So?’ ‘I thought you’d be pleased.’ ‘I don’t get it.’ ‘Wallace Stevens!’ ‘I know who … More

Last week saw an important milestone for Teachers as Writers. The CPD/feedback day gave everyone involved in the project – … More

Continuing in this mini-series of poems I shared in my reading at the Greenbelt festival last weekend, here is Looking … More

An artist needs not so much an audience as to feel a need to answer, a promise to respond. … More

In the last year, another government initiative has created a compulsory part of the curriculum: learning poetry by heart … More

The more I talk about writing with students, teachers, colleagues and other writers, the less I am sure that we … More

A speech given at the NATE annual conference, June 2014 My early poetic experiences were not ‘poetic’ at … More

I think I am probably in love with silence, that other world. And that I write, in some way, to … More

One of the joys of working on the Teachers as Writers project is that I get to steal. As … More

When the Arvon student is put in posession of that creative self, which was hitherto inaccessible, two things, in particular, … More