we do not live in a serious country. And no, that’s not a response to Thursday’s election results – which scarcely count as a shock when so much time and money has been spent building up Farage and his various…
Kneecap /ˈniːkap/ noun
Convex bone in front of
knee joint; the patella.
Waking at first light in the hope
of some miraculous resurrection of hope,
an Easter miracle come early...
Actually, forty-three. That’s how many days it is since Israel blocked all food aid entering into Gaza. For forty-three days, the people of Gaza have – once again – been facing the very real threat of starvation. In addition, Israel…
(an incomplete list, some items may be missing)
Much of a poet’s life is a triumph of blind optimism over cold reality. Preparing to head out to a gig, you mull over the hard-gained experience of years of performance, consider the maximum number of books you’re likely to…
At the start of last week, I took the tram into Birmingham (a sleepy village on the southern fringes of the Black Country, for those of you in any doubt) and made my way to Brum Radio, the sleepy village’s independent…
This was going to be a piece about poetry. Honestly, it was. I spent Monday lunchtime in a studio in Birmingham with two other poets, recording a one-hour show that’ll go out on Brum Radio on Sunday, and I headed…
We’re one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and it seems that far too many people have allowed themselves to forget that either we all have rights, or none of us have any rights at all. That when…
after Dorothy Parker
Today, I’m back home and putting my feet up after a weekend driving half the length of the country with fellow pandemonialist Emma Purshouse so we could do a couple of gigs. It’s time to reflect on two very different…
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…