… and still the [redacted]s keep dying on me! It was bad enough when Mary Oliver died in January. Then WS Merwin and Linda Gregg in March. And then Les Murray (April 29th, although I found out much later). And Stanley Plumly, also in April, who I’d corresponded with from time to time when I …
There is no such thing as a surfeit of good Belgian chocolates (until you have to choose just six)
One of the best things about preparing to teach classes is the amount of reading that I get to do. Am required to do, in fact. I imagine it's something like being the menu tester at a superb restaurant, or a product quality inspector at a very good chocolate factory, somewhere in Belgium, say, where …
HTFIIANYAA?! (or, How On Earth Is It A New Year Already Again??)
I did vaguely plan to do my usual signing off for the year post at the end of December, but then it turned out it was actually January. Not sure how that happened, but there you go. Which does at least spare me the embarrassment of doing a post summing up all the things that I …
Continue reading "HTFIIANYAA?! (or, How On Earth Is It A New Year Already Again??)"
Signing off for 2017
Another year, another set of domestic disasters, rejections, frustrations, minor triumphs and bursts of silliness. Oh, and some poetry too. It all began really well, with winning the January Rattle Ekphrastic competition. I still like the poem too, which is good. (And not always the way these things unpack). But then I failed completely to …
What I’ll Be Doing This Summer – Raising the Roof results
Many thanks to all those who took part in the polls about what sorts of things you’d like me to teach over summer. I’ve learned a couple of things, which I will share with you, oh gentle readers. Don’t ever ask a question without being fully ok with recieving every one of the possible answers. …
Continue reading "What I’ll Be Doing This Summer – Raising the Roof results"
A Dark Feathered Art 