Back to school, current reading & looking forward
Back. After twelve days or so away I’m feeling positively autumnal and a bit ‘back to school’ (garden looking blousy, woollies coming out […]
Category: Books
A few thoughts from Virginia Woolf on praise and fame
Virginia Woolf’s A Writer’s Diary is proving a rich source of inspiration. On the subject of a writer’s insecurity, it’s refreshing to find […]
London Undercurrents at Clapham Bookshop
Joolz Sparkes and Hilaire have been collaborating on London Undercurrents for a number of years and I was delighted when it was published […]
Summer reading, thinking & waiting
After a couple of weeks of what’s felt like full-on socialising in our sunny garden, I’m enjoying a quiet day alone catching up, […]
New reading: Magma 74 and the Laureate’s Choice Anthology
The new edition of Magma, edited by Benedict Newbery and Pauline Sewards, is dedicated to ‘work’, a subject close to my heart. It’s always […]
Look what I found! Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Writer’s Diary’
… Fourth Impression (1965) with a foreword by Leonard Woolf. Hogarth Press! Original dust jacket bearing Vanessa Bell’s design! I found it at […]
Currently reading: Kaminsky, Hickman
Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic came through the post from the Poetry Book Society, swathed in accolades. Looking at the title my first thought […]
Estuary English
It seems as if class and regional differences are very much to the fore at the moment. No surprise there I suppose, nor […]
Recent reading: Janet Sutherland, Poetry magazine
Alongside making updates to the look and feel of this site (and general online spring cleaning) I’ve been enjoying some stimulating reading lately. […]
What Mary Oliver said about distractions
One of the first books I bought and consumed (once I started thinking it possible I could write the odd semi-decent poem) was […]