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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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