On Thursday evening there was a reading to celebrate the Mixed Borders scheme run earlier this year by the Poetry School in association with the Open Garden Squares Weekend. I've written previously about the scheme which, for most poets, led to a mini residency in a London park or garden in mid June. Over the …
Category: writing
strong stuff
Clothes can change your state of mind. Imagine you live in late Victorian times. You are in a state of extreme mental distress, and have been admitted to Bethlem Hospital. Perhaps you believe your soul has been lost, or all your organs have been removed, or some great harm is imminent. Early in your stay, …
Je suis Grecque
I am heliocentric. I am drama after drama. I am lemon, honey, olive groves. I am roadside weeds and fresh baked bread. I am Homer, Sappho, Socrates. I am both thalassa and Thanatos, a spartan Epicurean. Call me an oxymoron if you will. I am winding roads, sheer drops, wild thyme. Goatish tenacity. I am …
poets, gardens, roofs
In late April, I attended a one day workshop at the Poetry School, which offered the opportunity to be a poet-in-residence in a London park or garden as part of the Open Garden Squares Weekend. In the morning, we were bombarded with information and ideas about how to run a residency, and in the afternoon …
eight week review
It's just over eight weeks since I quit my job and time is doing that weird thing it seems to do of speeding up and filling up the more 'free' time one has. So I thought it might be good to take a step back and reflect on what I've done in that period. I've …
staying the course
I thought about calling this post 'I survived a poetry course'. But that would've been a tad melodramatic. I've just completed a six week poetry course on Monday evenings, based in the Marlene Dumas exhibition at Tate Modern and tutored by the amazing Pascale Petit. And I've surprised myself by really rather enjoying it. I …
not twiddling my thumbs
In my rebellious teenage years, if I expressed my desire to be a writer, the immediate 'helpful' suggestion was that I should pursue a career in journalism. I knew strongly this was not what I wanted to do, nor did I want anything so conformist as a career. So I made a conscious decision to …
Hilaire – Reborn
I'm very pleased to have this poem published on The Stare's Nest today. The poem is dedicated to Talha Ahsan, a British-born poet and translator with Asperger's syndrome. In 2012, having already been held in detention without charge in the UK for 6 years, he was extradited to the US - without any prima facie evidence being provided to a …
a short idiosyncratic list to round off 2014
The year is nearly out. Here are a few of my highlights of 2014. Ravel Day on BBC Radio 3 Friday 7th March was dedicated to the music and life of Maurice Ravel. I marked the day on my calendar as soon as I heard about it. His 139th birthday, so not a traditional landmark …
Continue reading a short idiosyncratic list to round off 2014
poem for my right-hand man
bless your hands for double-bowing my laces as tenderly as a parent on their child's first day at school bless your hands for finding their feet with hooks and zips; the ins and outs of the wrap dress for honey on my crumpet and moreish chilli pasta bookending fractured day for keys slotted home and …
Hilaire 