It seems incredible to me that Wing Beats, the book of haiku about British birds which I co-wrote and edited with John Barlow is now 10 years old. It began as a dual collection between the pair of us, but we opened it up to submissions, so that we could include haiku by most of… Continue reading Wing Beats
Poems for the NHS
I’m delighted to have a poem in this new anthology, edited by Matt Barnard and published by The Onslaught Press, which marks 70 years since the foundation of the National Health Service by Attlee’s government. My poem, ‘On Muybridge Ward’, is a companion piece to the poems about my dad in The Evening Entertainment, so… Continue reading Poems for the NHS
The Honest Ulsterman
I’m very pleased to have a poem in the latest issue of The Honest Ulsterman, the journal founded by James Simmons in 1968. The first time I ever read poems in public was at an event organised by the University of Ulster at Coleraine’s then Writer-in-Residence, Martin Lynch, in the Anchor in Portstewart: Simmons was… Continue reading The Honest Ulsterman
On David Borrott’s ‘Aquarium with Toddler’
Aquarium with Toddler Lit-up rectangles filled with the weird: a baggy-headed octopus with a salad of legs; lobsters, big-clawed, like futuristic war machines; pinstripe and leopard print shoals. In the giant tank the flat-bellied sharks fly over us, swallowing the bloodless water. Glum piranhas congregate by the bubble filter. A ray hangs like a shirt… Continue reading On David Borrott’s ‘Aquarium with Toddler’
The Poetry Business
It’s been quite a week for me, poetry-wise. First of all, the last Sheffield Saturday session of the Poetry Business Writing Programme that I’ve been on since April last year, then a week’s residential at Sneaton Castle, Whitby, also under the auspices of the Poetry Business. The Saturday session was our first since the spring,… Continue reading The Poetry Business
Wombwell Rainbow interview
I am honoured to have been asked by Paul Brookes to take part in his series of interviews with poets on his Wombwell Rainbow site. I'm in fine company and it's well worth looking through the index of poets, as there are some well-known names (and others less so), dispensing words of wisdom.
Review of The Evening Entertainment
Since it had a longer gestation than a herd of elephants, I shouldn't have been surprised that it would take a while for my collection to be reviewed, but the wait was more than worthwhile. Thanks to Greg Freeman for his kind and considered review for Write Out Loud.
‘Poetry and Place’ at Marsden Walking Weekend
On the 15th and 16th September, my poem ‘Bleasdale’ will be one of 23 poems displayed in Marsden for the first-ever Marsden Walking Weekend.
Cambridge
Here’s a photo taken after Wednesday’s Eyewear reading at Pembroke, College Cambridge. It’s great to see Eyewear back. (L to R: Todd Swift, Lucy A. Evans, Khariis Ubiaro, James Coghill, Mel Pryor and me.)
Metrognomic
When I run, my looping route is nearly always clockwise. Now I’ve moved to Thames Ditton, my latest loop is more like a long thin rectangle, a grandfather clock: along the towpath from Hampton Court to Walton, over Walton Bridge and back to Hampton Court via Sunbury and Hampton. This morning, in the endless heatwave swelter,… Continue reading Metrognomic
