Lifesaving Lines: An October Salmon, by Ted Hughes

I walked into the middle of a Ted Hughes poem the other week. An early morning dog walk, like any … More

The most popular lifesaving poems

Earlier this year my Lifesaving Poems blog enjoyed something of a milestone. Not as momentous as Jimmy Anderson taking his … More

To safe and almost universal silence I published How Far From Here is Home? (Stride) a few days before Christmas in … More

Dear Ted Hughes You probably won’t remember me. I wrote to you before, in the summer of 1998. I did … More

‘So I was thinking,’ the book says. ‘Going anywhere nice for Christmas?’ ’Do you want a lift somewhere?’ I say. … More

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

In support of crowdfunding our new anthology of poems, No One You Know, with Unbound, Sue Dymoke and I are … More

‘I’m tired.’ ‘You said,’ says the book. ‘No, I mean, I’m tired. Of my handwriting.’ ‘What’s wrong with it? It’s … More

‘Did you hear?’ says the book. ‘Ted Hughes’s brother has died.’ ‘I did see that, yes,’ I say. ’95, though. … More

‘I’ve been out,’ says the book. ‘So I see,’ I say. The book is dressed in a pith helmet and … More

Recently I have featured prose writing by various writers, reshaping them in the form of found poems. Annie Dillard on … More

When the Arvon student is put in posession of that creative self, which was hitherto inaccessible, two things, in particular, … More

At the start of each academic year, usually when I have known them for a week or so, I make … More

Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotyzing yourself and going over the … More

‘It’s even true of Ted Hughes.’ I look across at the book, whose head is now slumped on my desk, … More

‘Are you going to do one?’ ‘Who let you in?’ ‘Are you?’ The book has its feet up on my … More

There is a certain jubilation and truancy at the heart of an inspiration […a] liberation and abundance which is the … More

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