The poem is not happy. It glares up at me, its eyes spitting fury. ‘How dare you take me in … More
Tag: Writing Poems
Pursued by the poem
I am being pursued by the poem. It has been there for several years now, asking to be written. I … More
The best feeling there is
You stick to the routines you have set up, notebook observations, voracious reading, sending the work out to mags, even … More
How to enter a poetry competition
You go a talk by a Leading Poet. No one you know is there, but still you sit at the … More
The stationery thing again
My blog post yesterday about the stationery thing provoked more responses than I ever imagined it would. Among the … More
One poet talking about another poet
Once upon a time I broke the rules and spoke with another poet (it doesn’t matter who) about a … More
On disappearing
I wrote recently about poets who disappear from view, specifically Susannah Amoore, from Faber’s Poetry Introduction 6. My point is far … More
How’s the poetry going?
Sometimes people, including poets, ask me how my writing is going. The difference between a poet and a non-poet asking … More
Poetry Exhaustion
If you write poetry (and I assume that if you do, you are also actively engaged in reading … More
Lifesaving Poems 