We have left the house. At first our walking is clumsy, comical, even. The book is three yards ahead of … More
Tag: Writing
Seth Godin: V is for Vulnerable
Yesterday I listened to a dialogue between Debbie Millman and Seth Godin on art-making, resistance, anxiety, how the internet has changed … More
Why do it?
because of the words and because of the books because of the woman in the anorak at the swimming baths … More
A new poem: Some More Strategies for the End of the World
I am delighted to have a new poem, Some More Strategies for the End of the World, published today at … More
Going for coffee
The book and I are passing each other messages through a third party. Neither of us bothers with the niceties … More
Nine years ago today
Nine years ago today I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells. Even though I have … More
Visiting hours
I am visiting the book. We have already been through a lot together, including the part where I killed it and … More
Lifesaving Poems: Denise Levertov’s ‘The Secret’
The Secret Two girls discover the secret of life in a sudden line of poetry. I who don’t know the … More
On writing and illness
Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More
Murdering my darling
I have murdered my darling. Like a bird of a certain blue vintage, it is ex, dead, kaput, finished. The … More
Another look at Lux’s ‘An Horatian Notion’
One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … More
After Paris
I found two blog posts especially moving in the aftermath of last week’s attacks in Paris, both by the same … More
Finding Sharon Olds’s The Matter of This World
The Collection The Matter of This World: New and Selected Poems (Slow Dancer, 1987) I found The Matter of … More
Making Poetry Happen
Announcing the publication of Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the Poetry Classroom (Bloomsbury, 2015). Making Poetry Happen provides a valuable resource … More
Influences: my first reader
My first reader was a man called Fergus. A friend of a flatmate at university, I never got to … More
Cut through
Cut through to what happens when you listen. Cut through to making it happen, listening for it, failing, then doing … More
New Year letter
Dear Ant Looking forward to 2015 it’s tempting to think it will never reach the heights of 2014. Big mistake. Huge. … More
Poetry highlights of 2014
I have so much to be grateful for in 2014. The year began in one of my temporary fits … More
