Monthly Archives: February 2012

Lent 8: The Darkness of her Meekness

I’ve mentioned my ‘problem’ with Selima Hill before. As a poet whose work I don’t really get, she has quite clearly managed to get under my skin as I own no less than six of her collections. Somehow, when I … Continue reading

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Lent 7: Wendy Cope, and, for comic effect, Ted Hughes

I’m going to share another Wendy Cope poem, simply because I want to share her anecdote about why schools are crap at poetry. In 2008 she released a “new & selected” book called Two Cures for Love. About this book, … Continue reading

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Lent 6: The Mourner

Today I am actually sharing work from a poet whose collection I haven’t bought. Yet. Zoe Brigley studied and taught at Warwick University while some good friends of mine were there, and her new collection, Conquest, is a Poetry Book … Continue reading

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Lent 5: Hedgehog

I remember being really excited to see that the Poetry Book Society had chosen Polly Clark’s Take Me with You as their Winter choice in 2005. I’d seen Clark’s poetry in Mslexia and liked it, even if I didn’t really … Continue reading

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Lent 4: Cathedral

I wish I had remembered, two years ago, that SinĂ©ad Morrissey’s Through the Square Window was written between her first pregnancy and the first two weeks of her second child’s life. Of course, while I’d have particularly appreciated a lot … Continue reading

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Easter: a real indulgence

You may or may not be familiar with my Lenten poetry challenge. I’m sharing a poem a day throughout Lent in lieu of actually giving up anything. Anyway – I believe Easter is when you can start indulging again. Spring … Continue reading

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Lent 3: Tribute

I have previously shared Sophie Hannah’s Rubbish at Adultery, though please note that you have to follow a link to read the whole poem. I was obviously feeling a little copyright sensitive and only typed up one stanza, in that … Continue reading

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Lent 2: It Wasn’t the Father’s Fault

I’ve not shared any Rita Ann Higgins before. I have her 2005 collection Throw in the Vowels, which contains selected poems from several collections since 1986, plus some new material. It’s a good retrospective. She writes of being poor in … Continue reading

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Lent 1: Primrose

In general, I don’t tend to like poems which are about something concrete. Landscape poetry. Odes to a butterfly. No thank you. I’d rather something guttural and emotional, something abstract (or at least layered or metaphorical) enough that I can … Continue reading

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40 Poems of Lent: an introduction & roundup

While blithely pondering what I could give up for Lent (it has to be something I care about, I thought), I had several ideas, (something realistic, though) including CBeebies (realistic but challenging) and take-aways (something I’ll enjoy reinstating). Nothing really … Continue reading

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