Spring is most definitely here, even if the biting wind and chilly temperature suggest otherwise. And my Winter Walks for Well-being and Writing project, commissioned as part of Wandsworth Council's year as London Borough of Culture, wrapped up towards the end of March. The final part of the project, once I'd delivered three walks and …
Tag: poem
Of Islands and Strangers
I come from a sunburnt country.I come from Scottish and Welsh,and Protestant guilt.I come from stolen land.I come from privilegefrom classical musicand cryptic crosswordsand private education.I come from discontentfrom chucking in schoolfrom teenage rebellion. I came in desperation,I came a strangerin a strange state of mind.I came to Thatcher’s disunited kingdomto Red Ken’s London. I found …
Bon anniversaire Maurice Ravel
The French composer Maurice Ravel was born 150 years ago today. He's one of mine and Nick's favourite composers. Back in March 2014, BBC Radio 3 dedicated a whole day to Ravel's music, which really opened our ears to the wonder and variety of his music - there's so much more than his most famous …
where did it all begin?
Recently I was thinking about writing goals (not something I often do, actually), and thought how cool it would be to have one of my poems read on radio. Poetry Please, where listeners request poems on a theme, is perhaps the pinnacle, but I'd be just as thrilled to have one of my poems broadcast …
A poem in the Morning Star
My poem Hotel Braverman was published in the Morning Star on Thursday, and you can read it online here: Hotel Braverman It's a poem I wish I hadn't had to write. I wish our government would live up to its obligations under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that 'Everyone has the …
Proms encore
To celebrate the start of this year's BBC Proms, I thought I'd dust off a poem I wrote many moons ago after my first couple of visits to the Proms, and which I posted here nearly a decade ago! Nowadays, I enjoy following the Proms in the comfort of my own home, where I can …
In praise of Pennine Platform
I recently had a poem published in the long established Pennine Platform magazine. The whole experience has been a joy. I got a prompt response to my postal submission, with helpful feedback on poems not taken, and a suggested tweak to the accepted poem, which definitely improved it. Post publication, the editor has passed on …
Unilateral declaration of World Tahini Day
Tahini on toast. My breakfast this morning, and it set me thinking, not for the first time, what a magical food tahini is. Surely, I thought, there must be one day in the year when this delicious, nutritious and versatile ingredient is celebrated. I searched online and to my surprise it appears there is no …
a poem for the new year
seven wishes more unplugged hoursand deeper sleep air so crispit scintillates your lungs birdsong decoratingevery street a stranger’s nodwhen needed most the clock wound backon climate change a wilder lawnfrom scattered seeds in kitchens far and neara good breakfast to start each day
Hilaire 