ANYONE who can should come and see Don Paterson reading his poetry on May 22 in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The indefatigable team at Woodstock Bookshop have just arranged for this leading contemporary poet to come to Woodstock and give a reading…
Blog Archives
Me, Andrew Philip and a fish
ONE of the reasons I haven’t been updating this blog very much is that I have been taking online poetry classes at the London Poetry School. In our hyperbolic age, I find it hard to characterise the course that I’m…
Welcome to the age of the digital readeur
TO AN interesting talk at the Oxford Literary Festival this morning. The three speakers were talking about publishing online and I was especially interested to go as I will be talking about my other blog, SHORTCIRCUIT, at the Vale and…
Tagged with: blogosphere, online content
Posted in creativity, feedback, friendship, links, literature, Poetry, reading, Writing, writing novels
Posted in creativity, feedback, friendship, links, literature, Poetry, reading, Writing, writing novels
Andrew Motion and his encouraging gin problem
I went to see Andrew Motion reading his poetry at his alma mater St Anne’s College, Oxford, courtesy of the Oxford University Poetry Society, a few nights ago. I have seen him read before and he reads beautifully. He also…
Tagged with: Andrew Motion, bereavement, loss, Writing poetry
Posted in censorship, creativity, life writing, literature, Poetry, Writing
Posted in censorship, creativity, life writing, literature, Poetry, Writing
Limits
Wasn’t it the Austrian-Jewish-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein who said ‘whereof you cannot speak, thereof you must be silent’? Well I never fully understood Wittgenstein beyond loving his idea that we can prove the existence of other people by the existence…
Tagged with: challenging texts, limits, social skills, Stella Duffy, Suzanne Moore
Posted in censorship, criticism, feminism, literature, Poetry, women, Writing
Posted in censorship, criticism, feminism, literature, Poetry, women, Writing
What not to do in (online) poetry class; making the link
I can’t decide if online poetry courses are harder than real-life poetry courses. The one I’ve just finished was definitely illuminating and great fun. In real-life poetry courses you have to read in front of your classmates, usually, and that’s…
Tagged with: jorie graham, poetry, william carlos williams
Posted in literature, Poetry, reading, Writing
Posted in literature, Poetry, reading, Writing
Taking chances
I am quite a cautious person. I like rules. I like to research the rules and then implement them. Teachers love me. But recently I’ve got bored with that and I’ve done a couple of things on instinct. I’ve enjoyed…
Tagged with: literature, Paul Kessling, poetry, private view, reading, time-lapse film, Wantage (not just) Betjeman Literary Festival, writing
Posted in characters, creativity, criticism, feedback, film, friendship, Poetry, reading
Posted in characters, creativity, criticism, feedback, film, friendship, Poetry, reading
What not to do in Poetry Class
Bollocks. Why do I take these risks? I forget that the stakes are quite high in these places and that it matters, or at least it does to me, how I feel when I go out the door. I’m talking…
Tagged with: Getting it Wrong, kim hyesoon
Posted in creativity, criticism, feedback, feminism, life writing, literature, Poetry, reading, women, Writing
Posted in creativity, criticism, feedback, feminism, life writing, literature, Poetry, reading, women, Writing
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