Category: Blog

Breakfast/Pause

September 3, 2017

Pause with the marmalade jar in one hand and a cup with a little tea left in the other because the geese are flying over the house sounding their grace notes   Advertisements

To listen with the body

August 30, 2017

I propose a new form of courage of the body: the use of the body not for the development of musclemen, but for the cultivation of sensitivity. This will mean the development of the capacity to listen with the body. From The Courage to Create by Rollo May  

Sound Poetics

August 29, 2017

Something of the day’s enrichment: ‘We are transmitters and receivers, a system of call and response … As we carry our own song through life, we are constantly touching other tunes, and frequently we are required to improvise the expression of our self in relation to what surrounds us, interacting as a human being like … More Sound Poetics

Mark Doty extract

August 25, 2017

When it comes to posting daily or, at least, regular ‘enrichments’, which I am starting today, here is a passage from a book I love, given to me by my good friend Linda Moss. It is Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by the poet Mark Doty. Like Linda, I love everything I have read … More Mark Doty extract

“Breathing Space” – Writing for Wellbeing Conference

March 27, 2017

Advance notice – a date for your diary!  “Breathing Space” Writing for Wellbeing Conference November 3rd-5th, 2017 Out of the Blue Writing, in affiliation with The International Academy for Poetry Therapy presents a writing for wellbeing conference in the inspirational setting of Plas Tan y Bwlch, Snowdonia, North Wales. Take time and space to connect … More “Breathing Space” – Writing for Wellbeing Conference

ANGLESEY MÔNTAGE WRITING FESTIVAL / Gŵyl Ysgrifennu Môntage Ynys Môn

March 27, 2017

I am spreading the word about this event coming up in September, brought to us by the ever-active Montage writing group on Anglesey/Ysgrifennu Môntage Ynys Môn. I am delighted to be one of the festival tutors – and do take a look at the fabulous line-up of writers and events. There is something for everyone. Full details are … More ANGLESEY MÔNTAGE WRITING FESTIVAL / Gŵyl Ysgrifennu Môntage Ynys Môn

‘Clearing’

March 25, 2017

A good friend of mine, Linda Moss, emailed me early this morning. We had, on Friday, been mourning the inauguration of ‘President Trump’ and all that he symbolises, so in her email, she has reminded me of the final lines of my poem ‘Clearing’. Linda, I’m grateful to you – and I still believe it! … More ‘Clearing’

Like Cat and Dog

March 25, 2017

This poem is about that often amusing dynamic between cats and dogs. The photo is of our cat Lucky, who died some years ago, aged seventeen. He was the inspiration for many poems, including this one. He took liberties, and puzzled our dogs in the process. Like Cat and Dog cat climb high up go where … More Like Cat and Dog

Mental Fly

March 25, 2017

Thanks to the magazine Raceme for publishing this poem in its No. 4 edition. Watching a fly opened up the theme of mental entrapment – the way our thought-habits can keep us fettered, until we notice the ‘door’ …   Mental Fly A fly buzzes against glass, taps hard, scribbles and dots up and down the … More Mental Fly