This is the second in a series of Guest Blog Posts that I am hosting this year. More are … More
Tag: Writing
Homesick
“A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a homesickness or a love sickness. It is a reaching-out toward … More
Inside Lifesaving Poems 5
An artist needs not so much an audience, as to feel a need to answer, a promise to respond. Robert … More
Open letter to Peter Sansom on reading Careful What You Wish For
Dear Peter Cover-to-cover and back-to-back twice, as I do, once before sleeping, then between zeds on a train woken to Tickets, … More
Guest blog post: Hands like these, by Beverly Rycroft
This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by writers I admire. Having enjoyed speaking and reading … More
Lifesaving Poems has arrived
Lifesaving Poems has arrived Well, it has finally arrived. The anthology which began life as a blog, which began life as … More
Lifesaving Poems: Juan Ramón Jiménez’s ‘I Am Not I’
I Am Not I I am not I. I am this one walking beside me whom I do not … More
The Invisible College
I have just come back from a thing. I am tired. A good afternoon of good conversation about large, important … More
A new poem in support of Mental Health Awareness Week 2015
I am delighted to have a new poem, To Spring, published today at Sarah James’s blog, in With You In … More
A new poem at The Clearing
I am delighted to have a new poem, ‘Blue Morning’ (after Terry Frost), included in Four Ways of Looking at … More
Why must we write?
The poem that came into my mind on waking up this morning and hearing the General Election result is Mark … More
The Parable of the Book (free eBook)
For those of you who have been enjoying my series of adventures with ‘the book’, here is a free eBook … More
Nothing to say
‘You’re late,’ the new book says. It is seated at my desk, sleeves rolled up, a mug of steaming coffee … More
The new book
It is drizzling. The house is empty, the road outside quiet. It’s just as the book said it would be, … More
Excuses
‘Was it good?’ the book says. ‘Was what good?’ ‘What you’ve been up to,’ the book says. ‘When?’ ‘You know … More
The terrible poem
The terrible poem starts with an idea. The terrible poem knows it is the best thing that has been written. … More
What is a lifesaving poem?
Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More
Mike Ferguson reviews Making Poetry Happen
‘Making Poetry Happen is a fundamental resource for all English teachers for the way if collates both thinking about … More