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 […]
Category: Writing
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 […]
On redrafting old material, and a welcome acceptance
During my mini-retreat in Cork I dug out a number of old as-yet-unfinished or unpublished poems to see what I could breathe new […]
To Cork!
Rather unlike me but I decided on the spur of the moment to go to the Cork Poetry Festival! Having followed a tweet […]
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 […]
Catchup for a rainy day – news, upcoming etc
With a real sense of summer coming to an end, I just wanted to mention a few things before August is up, and […]
“Patience is the master key to every situation”
Another wonderful article from Brain Pickings, this time Rilke on ‘the lonely patience of creative work.’ Solitude and patience are essential to creative […]
Notes on a poetry residential at Garsdale
I’m back from an inspirational week at the Garsdale Retreat, on a poetry residential course that deserved to be full but wasn’t – […]
From Picasso to Garsdale: news roundup
Taking a leaf out of Peter Kenny’s book, here are seven items from the imaginary newsdesk at Kenny Houghton Towers (sorry Peter – but as […]
Roundup | a good poetry week
Bit of a roundup post. Last Tuesday evening at West Greenwich Library I got to hear some super poems inspired by the Mary […]