One of the first books I bought and consumed (once I started thinking it possible I could write the odd semi-decent poem) was Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, along with Julia Cameron’s The Sound of Paper. Now Mary Oliver has died I suppose it was inevitable there would be a flurry of Oliver-appreciation, and I’veRead more ⟶
Tag: Brain Pickings
“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 work, he says: “Leave to your opinions their own quiet undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be pressed or hurried by anything. Everything is gestationRead more ⟶
Some inspirational writing & poetry sites to enjoy in 2016
Happy New Year, and welcome to the rest of your life. May it be a long, healthy and happy one. Had a nice Christmas? Glad it’s over now? It’s OK to answer ‘yes’ to both, by the way. I’m in a contemplative mood. It’s great to look out of the window and see just oneRead more ⟶
The Road Not Taken & FOMO
Just the other day Don Share posted on Twitter a link to a recording of Robert Frost reading ‘The Road Not Taken’. How wonderful to hear it in the poet’s voice. Here it is on YouTube: Matthew Hollis, in his 2011 biography of Edward Thomas, Now All Roads Lead to France, tells of Thomas’s distress atRead more ⟶
Love this: recordings of poems by Denise Levertov
Huge thanks to Brain Pickings for leading me to this.