On generosity

By the time you read this I will be far away from here. It has not happened yet, but I … More

Allan Ahlberg’s genius

Photo credit: Felix Clay, The Guardian   Heard I can’t remember a time in my teaching career when there wasn’t … More

Influences: Alan Booth

Alan Booth wasn’t the first teacher to teach me something, but he was the first who drew me into the … More

Poetry vs 9/11

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

Lifesaving Poems: the book

Photograph © Bloodaxe Books Ltd I am delighted to announce that my Lifesaving Poems series of blog posts has now become … More

How to be a writing tutor

Thanks to the vision and generosity of Jean Sprackland, between 1999-2001 I had the privilege of working with the great … More

Now the silences are right

   I am completely torn apart -Rupert Loydell When I first read Raymond Carver’s Fires I loved and understood all of it, … More

Lifesaving Poets: Gerard Benson

I was saddened to hear of the death of Gerard Benson last week. A poet and anthologist, he was probably … More

The bow and the lyre

I followed a lead, nudged by a hunch, and it brought me here. The book is In Their Own Words (edited by … More