Advent meditation 2

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

Courage

Courage It is in the small things we see it. The child’s first step, as awesome as an earthquake. … More

That isn’t me in the photo, though it could be. A bald man in vaguely sportif clothing trying to take an … More

I went home the other day. I mean home-home, where I was born, and where my parents still live. … More

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

I have been thinking a lot recently about Alan Booth, my English teacher from the ages of 11 to 13. … More

I wasn’t always lazy. As I have written before, I think it became a safety valve for me around the … More

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

Along with colleagues from the Arvon Foundation, The Open University and University of Exeter I have just begun … More

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

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

And Yet the Books And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings,That appeared once, still wetAs … More

I am delighted to have a new poem, ‘Sunlight’, for my dear friend Peter Carpenter, published at The Stare’s Nest. … More

One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … More

I have been thinking a lot this week about the late Ted Wragg. When I joined the University of Exeter … More

On the Sunday morning of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival I breakfasted with poets discussing the theme of writing poetry and … More

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

I first heard Thomas Lux’s poems before I read them. In the autumn of 2000 I was sent a tape … More