In memory of Sue Dymoke

My dear friend and colleague, the poet, teacher and academic Sue Dymoke has died. Though she had been ill for … More

On giving feedback

I found myself in the position of giving feedback to some writers recently. The writers were teachers who had signed … More

#NaBloPoMo 12 – The Alan Booth method

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

#NaBloPoMo 4 – Sowing in fertile ground

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

What we talk about when we talk about writing

The more I talk about writing with students, teachers, colleagues and other writers, the less I am sure that we … More

Living and breathing Arvon

  ‘I’ve been at the field.’ This, spoken by one of the teachers on last week’s writing residential at Totleigh … More

A review of Lifesaving Poems

I am grateful to Victoria Field of NAWE for reviewing Lifesaving Poems in the current edition of Writing in Education. You can download … More

Why poetry matters

The value of poetry is that it should matter … first to the writer and then to the reader.  Michael … More

Lifesaving Poems: CK Williams’s ‘Kin’

In the spring of 1999 I got the best education in poetry I have ever had. I was in Suffolk, … More

Lifesaving Poems: Rutger Kopland’s ‘I Cavalli di Leonardo’

I was sad to read yesterday via Twitter that the leading Dutch poet Rutger Kopland has died, aged 77. He … More