Sometimes the universe seems to line things up, so that it feels as though you are receiving a domino-chain of affirmation – random things, unrelated or only tangentially so, that fall into place with a sound like yes! Yes. Yes. See, we’re aligning for you! Yes. Yes. Yes. Synchronicity, in other words. I try not to be superstitious (or …
Teaching poetry – Kate Clanchy article
I was recently sent a link to a gorgeous article in The Guardian written by Kate Clanchy: the story of The Very Quiet Foreign Girls poetry group. Having spent the weekend revisiting the deep pleasure of being a student (despite nearly dislocating myself trying not to butt in and teach over the top of poor …
Inertia is a thing with stacks of paper
I’m now at the point where shame has tipped me past grief, and I’ve actually started the tangible work of putting together Helen’s final collection. I know, I’ve “started work” on this many many times in the months since she died. But it’s incredible how physically as well as mentally difficult it is to get myself …
Publication opportunity for ekphrastic poems
A quick shout-out to those of you with ekphrastic poems looking for a home – Cordite Poetry Review has an issue with just that theme coming up, with a deadline of November 1st. (An ekphrastic poem is a poem based on, or triggered by, a piece of visual art. But you knew that, right?) Given …
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You know those poems with amazing titles
that suggest anything could be about to happen, anything might lie hidden behind the words about to leap forth – the soldiers of syntax marshalled on parade, the magicians of imagination warming up their wands – but which, like the contents of a Fabergé egg or a politician’s promise or Don Juan’s trousers add the …
A Dark Feathered Art 