Nothing

‘What are you doing?’ says the book. ‘Nothing.’ ‘Doesn’t look like it.’ ‘Listening to the cricket,’ if you must know. … More

The Year of Living Deeply 21: Some James Schuyler resources

My James Schuyler obsession continues. (So is my adoration of blogs about pencils, but that is another story.) Below are … More

Dear James (may I call you James?) Though it’s been a while (at least ten years, maybe more) it feels as … More

‘You knew how to live in those days’ Peter Sansom Sometime in the early Nineties my friend … More

I have been reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life recently. In it she asks … More

I have carried it with me each day, that sense of shame about the fact that I write, that it … More

About a month before my friend Pammy died, she said something that may have permanently changed me. We had … More

I was saddened to hear of the death of the Australian poet Les Murray yesterday. In the autumn of 1997, … More

I have been thinking a lot about habits recently. The unconscious, unthinking ones which, as Sylvia Plath said about words, … More

I wrote the poem below in the summer of 2015. David Cameron had won a slim majority in the … More

Dear Alicia I can’t believe it is three years since I got to hang out with you at Totleigh … More

after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind. Write about what you learned at university. … More

Anne Lamott suggests an index card, and I have used these, but they suggest something pre-planned, organised. The envelope, especially … More

It isn’t often that you read something that you know as soon as you read it has the capacity to … More

I always think of myself as working at a rock face. Ninety days out of ninety five, it’s just a … More

After Charles Wright Strives for perfection-Thursday Is begun day after votings Old envelope from the hospital) Will … More

‘What’s up?’ says the book. ‘It’s nothing. Really. I’m fine,’ I say. ‘For a person with their head in their … More

When I first read and began thinking about The Year of Living Deeply one of my instant reactions concerned the impact … More