Poetry and tennis

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

The Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2014

On the basis of these five first collections, there is no reason to assume the careers of the poets who … More

Ellen Doré Watson was a new name to me until recently. ‘Be Here First ‘ is a good example of … More

I am at a thing. A historic thing. (An historic thing? I will never know). Poets are there. Household names. … More

I am delighted to have a new poem Writing Research Across Borders (2014): Poster Sessions in Hinterland With thanks to Judi Sutherland … More

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

She started as a name. There I was, following my nose, minding my own business, trying to ignore all instincts … More

I am delighted to be included in Issue Twelve of Antiphon poetry magazine. You can read my new poem, ‘S’, … More

Below is a collection of my blog posts for the 2014 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. I will update it as I … More

Photograph © Bloodaxe Books Ltd I am delighted to announce that my Lifesaving Poems series of blog posts has now become … More

The online poetry magazine dedicated to very short poems, Nutshells and Nuggets, has taken two new poems of mine. You … More

Someone who knows me very well knocked me sideways with a comment the other day. Remarking on this blog, … More

It Is Summer for Months Clothes are skimpy and tans are gotwithout flight bags.We saunter beside a canalwhere horses pull … More

The Art of Disappearing When they say Don’t I know you?say no. When they invite you to the partyremember what … More

I am driving to a thing. Not a famous thing, an out of the way thing. A classroom, perhaps. … More

I am not at a thing. The things have dried up (or I have stopped going). I am thingless. I … More

The review isn’t exactly vicious as such, merely purely personal and savage. It stops short of questioning your parentage, but … More

You think it will be about your childhood. It turns out to be about an onion. Or a night in … More