‘I’m your new book!’

‘Hullo!’ says the book. ‘Have we been introduced?’ I say. ‘I’m your new book!’ ‘But I haven’t finished the last … 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

Aldeburgh going

‘Which is why Aldeburgh going is such a disaster. It took years to achieve what they did, years. Of slog, … More

To my fearless guest bloggers

One of the great joys of writing this blog in the last year has been to invite some of my … More

Thirteen ways of remembering Ted Hughes

Teachers’ words should not be ‘How to write’ but ‘How to try to say what you really mean’ – which … More

Thinking allowed?

Photo credit: from Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (p 138)   This is a poster presentation I gave at … More

Why poetry matters

The value of poetry is that it should matter … first to the writer and then to the reader.  Michael … More

Influences: Alan Booth

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

Writing and silence

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

The woman at the workshop

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

The burnt horizon

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

Guest posts and summer reading

As I did last year, I will be taking a break from uploading new posts to this blog over August. … More

Guest Post: How I put The Art of Falling together, by Kim Moore

How I put The Art of Falling together In May 2012 my first pamphlet If We Could Speak Like Wolves … More

The missing blog post

after and with apologies to Mark Halliday The missing blog post has gone AWOL. Never sure of its place in … More

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

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