after and with apologies to Mark Halliday The missing blog post has gone AWOL. Never sure of its place in … More
Tag: Teaching Poetry
A review of Lifesaving Poems
My deep thanks to Maria Taylor, who has written the most lovely appreciation of Lifesaving Poems. Thank you Maria for capturing its … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems 5
An artist needs not so much an audience, as to feel a need to answer, a promise to respond. Robert … More
Open letter to Peter Sansom on reading Careful What You Wish For
Dear Peter Cover-to-cover and back-to-back twice, as I do, once before sleeping, then between zeds on a train woken to Tickets, … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems 3
As I have said before, there wasn’t a plan. Which does not mean I don’t feel the luckiest man alive … More
Lifesaving Poems: Yevtushenko’s ‘Damp white imprints dog the feet’
Damp white imprints dog the feet; snowbound trolley, snowbound street. Her tip of glove to lip and cheek, “Goodbye.” Go. … More
Lifesaving Poems has arrived
Lifesaving Poems has arrived Well, it has finally arrived. The anthology which began life as a blog, which began life as … More
The Invisible College
I have just come back from a thing. I am tired. A good afternoon of good conversation about large, important … 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
The terrible poem
The terrible poem starts with an idea. The terrible poem knows it is the best thing that has been written. … 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
Packing to leave
‘Passport?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Flight info?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Euros?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Underpants?’ The book glares at me. ‘What do you take me for?’ ‘It … More
In the waiting room
The book has had a fall, and now we are sitting in a waiting room, waiting to be seen. This … More
A new poem: Sunlight
I am delighted to have a new poem, ‘Sunlight’, for my dear friend Peter Carpenter, published at The Stare’s Nest. … 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
Visiting hours
I am visiting the book. We have already been through a lot together, including the part where I killed it and … More
Another look at Lux’s ‘An Horatian Notion’
One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … 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
Lifesaving Poems 