January notebook

Two successes I can claim as a parent: they both love music and football (even if one of them supports … More

Not a ‘thin’ year for poetry

It was one of those throwaway remarks made by one writer, male, to another, ditto, in one of those books … More

Discovering Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds

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

Inside Lifesaving Poems

The central organising principle of Lifesaving Poems is that each poet is represented by a single poem. There are poets you … More

Lifesaving poems of summer

Now that we have finally had one in the UK, I found myself wondering recently how many of my Lifesaving Poems choices … More

Lifesaving Poems: T.S. Eliot’s ‘Hysteria’

Hysteria As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her … More

Lifesaving Poems: Edwin Morgan’s ‘One Cigarette’

As I have said before, Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds (Penguin, 1974) is one of the most important books of my life. It was … More

Lifesaving Poems: John Ash’s ‘The Middle Kingdom’

One of the pleasures of being alive is reading John Ash. Think of a prize-winning poet, someone you think of … More

Lifesaving Poems: Jo Shapcott’s ‘Era’

As I say in my full length review of Jo Shapcott’s Of Mutability, really good books about cancer are rare. Really … More

Lifesaving Poems: Thom Gunn’s ‘Autobiography’

Thom Gunn’s ‘Autobiography’ (from Geoffrey Summerfield’s Worlds: Seven Modern Poets, 1974), along with Norman MacCaig’s ‘Aunt Julia’, was among the … More

Lifesaving Poems

I was struck by a remark of Seamus Heaney in an interview he gave some years ago now. He was … More