learning my lessons
Yesterday, I made the mistake of reading the News section of the BBC website. I can’t explain why – I’m old enough to know better, and past experience has shown that the chance of them offering accurate and unflinching reporting…
Category craic
READ MORElearning my lessons
come now, my brothers
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days (a sensible choice, given the way the world’s going) then you’ll have missed the inglorious spectacle of Space Karen, at the inauguration of Orange Bloat, making a Nazi…
yin, and also yang
It’s becoming something of a tradition for me to start the new year by immersing myself in writing and writing workshops, and once again – because it always does – it’s paying dividends. Some years ago, the poet Jo Bell…
That’s a wrap
On Thursday evening, I did my final poetry gig of 2024, performing a headline set at Caffe Grande Slam, in Dudley. This is a monthly event – and a good one – powered by the dedication and passion of the…
more than a year
We’re over 400 days into Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, and still – even after the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and Amnesty International has declared that Israel’s actions do amount to genocide – our…
things that matter
This morning, I got the VW camper van out of the garage – it’s good to keep these old vehicles ticking over, and it needed refuelling, so a trip to the LPG station was in order – and took it for…
singing the praises
You don’t need me to tell you there’s a lot of ugliness in the world right now. More than we could ever possibly want or need. That makes it more important than ever to celebrate good things when they happen,…
do it yourself
Way back in the day, when I was first getting into the idea that my poetry might be something I could share, and inspired by the self-produced music fanzines which people hawked in pubs and clubs – and which were…
poetry as witness
Early this week – on Monday, to be precise – I fond myself writing another poem. The starting point for this one was the horrific footage of a young Palestinian man, Sha’aban Al-Dalou, burning alive in his hospital bed after…
in defence of public art
When it comes to public art, everyone’s an expert. No sooner has a statue been installed in a park or on a roundabout or in front of a town hall than somebody will stroll by – usually on social media,…
BlackBerry Fair
Ah, the life of a jobbing poet! Yesterday was spent sitting on a sofa in the autumn sunshine at BlackBerry Fair in Whitchurch in Shropshire, as myself and fellow pandemonialist Emma Purshouse offered Poetry on Demand to anyone who fancied…
art and dystopia
The wonder of poetry is that it allows every individual the opportunity to express themselves, to share their unique take on things, to make their voice heard and – maybe – surprise themselves with what they have to say. For me,…