The fame question

When I visit schools to read and talk about poetry there is often some sort of Q and A following … More

Lifesaving Poems: ‘Underneath the mathematics of time’

Phil Bowen gave me this poem, written by a ten-year-old girl, in 1998 to illustrate a writing game he submitted … More

In 1991 I made the decision to teach part-time so that I could put poetry more at the centre of … More

Sometime in 1997 I went to hear Kevin Crossley-Holland give a reading at Exeter Central Library. I’d heard he was … More

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

InstructorThis is the best bit; the steep glide into Milnsbridge,the tight swing under the arch before the home straight,when I’m … More

When I speak to trainee primary school teachers about their views of poetry I am often struck by their divergent … More

I wrote yesterday about pitching poems in the classroom which are aimed not at the crowd but perhaps one … More

Who? Who is that child I see wandering, wandering down by the side of the quivering stream? Why does … More

It was the best of times. Jean Sprackland and I were tutoring the dream group at Totleigh Barton for a … More

It was the best of times. Jean Sprackland and I were tutoring a poetry course at Totleigh Barton, the Arvon … More

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

The Bath Festivals‘ Write Team was a creative writing project designed to develop pupil confidence and engagement in their learning. The … More

8.06 p.m. June 10th 1970poemTom Raworth (from Jumpstart, ed. Cliff Yates, Poetry Society, 1999) As I say in my previous blog post, … More

I have just come back from the Greenbelt Festival where I was delighted to give a talk about writing poetry … More

The Birkdale Nightingale(Bufo calamito – the Natterjack toad)On Spring nights you can hear themtwo miles away, calling their matesto the … More

‘I’ve learnt to be more confident with my ideas, because sometimes you have an idea that you just sort of … More

Some writers influence you through the pull of their imagination on your work, opening up new worlds as you read … More