All Blogposts

  • Poetry workshop ideas: #writerinschool

    Poetry workshop ideas: #writerinschool

    As you know, I was Writer in Residence at St Gregory’s School, Bath, in the academic year 2017-2018, and I’ve been using this blog as a place to record my experience, especially workshops I’ve run. This is a post about using two poems by Katherine Stansfield, ‘How to make a good crisp sandwich’ and ‘Socks Read more

  • ‘Love in the time of hospital visits’ featured at Bookanista

    ‘Love in the time of hospital visits’ featured at Bookanista

    Huge thanks to the editors of the website Bookanista for featuring a poem from my book What Are You After? You can read ‘Love in the time of hospital visits’ a love poem for my husband, Andrew, and for the NHS, here. Read more

  • Poems that find a way to say what isn’t said #writerinschool

    Poems that find a way to say what isn’t said #writerinschool

    I wanted to write a few posts before my residency at St Gregory’s Catholic College ends, especially mentioning poems that prompted a lot of animated discussion and produced some exciting creative writing from school students. ‘Other Clouds’ by Rebecca Perry from her collection Beauty/Beauty (Bloodaxe, 2015) and ‘what my mother (a poet) might say’ by Mary Read more

  • My book is published

    My book is published

    Here is a lovely blog by Jayne Stanton about my launch on Saturday and about Nine Arches Press’ 10th Birthday Party.  A huge thank you to everyone who came to hear me read and helped to celebrate ten years of a wonderful independent press.  A reminder that there is free postage on all books at Read more

  • Publication Day for my book

    Publication Day for my book

    It’s taken a few years (more like a decade); a lot of poetry submissions, acceptances and rejections; emails, phone calls, meetings; cartridge ink and printer paper; eyestrain, caffeine and the odd glass of wine, swear word, and grey hair (many of these) –  but my debut full poetry collection What Are You After? is now Read more

  • a poem a week podcast

    a poem a week podcast

    I’m very pleased to be featured on Lizzy Turner’s ‘a poem a week’ podcast reading my poem ‘History Lesson’ from my new book What Are You After?  You can hear me reading here. This poem was inspired by the many events staged to mark the centenary of the start of World War I and was Read more