If you’re a writer who’s published at least one book, you’re eligible to apply for a Hawthornden Fellowship to do a whole lot more writing. Drue Heinz (yes, beans) was the benefactor, leaving her magnificent castle on the edge of … Continue reading
I’m very pleased to have a second collection out, published by Templar Press and launched on 20th June 2017, again at Keats House in north London. I am specially pleased with the cover, from a painting by Kasimir Malevich (Supremus … Continue reading
1 May 2016 Really pleased to be at the Strokestown Festival again, short-listed (that makes four short-listings there, and two prizes) for the poem ‘The river’. Even more delighted to get Second Prize, with the winner – John Murphy – … Continue reading
February – June 2016 I knew that Kamikaze was being used in the ‘Power and Conflict’ section of the GCSE English Literature exam’s ‘past and present’ anthology. It was great to be printed alongside Shelley, Blake, Wordsworth, Browning, Tennyson, Wilfred … Continue reading
‘The Invention of Fireworks’ has been short-listed among the Forward Prizes for the Felix Dennis Prize awarded to the best first collection. Wonderful news at the beginning of June, entirely unexpected and therefore all the more exciting; and pleasing too … Continue reading
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At times I’ve found I need to go away on my own to sort out something I’m trying to write. The most recent journey in March 2014 was to Iceland, where I found a magnificent, bleak, snowbound landscape, with huge … Continue reading
Templar is an independent publishing house I have always admired for its poetry, but as well for the high quality of its graphics and design. If you were lucky enough to be published by them you knew you’d have a … Continue reading
The best event I attended at the festival was a talk by Tim Dee on ‘The Poetry of Birds’. He talked of a lifelong passion for noticing, watching and identifying birds, and read several poems from the book of the … Continue reading
Everything Don Paterson said about the reasons for setting up this new prize (Guardian, 22/1/11) sounded absolutely right. I don’t know how many hopeful unpublished poets actually got as far as jumping through the initial hoops demanded by the competition … Continue reading