Category Archives: Poetry

World Poetry Day 2012

It seems a little superfluous for me to post about World Poetry Day since it is occurring during my epically long Lenten Poetry challenge. To mark the day, inspired by the Poetry Book Society sharing this poem by John Osborne … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Lent 29: Moon Hymn

Inside the jacket of Alice Oswald’s third collection, Woods etc. it says, quite aptly, “Her poems ponder the most elemental of props and portents: water, stone, a wood, the wind, moon, stars, deep space. [Her] theme is nature, but her … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lent 28: Fathers

I’m sharing another fatherhood poem here, simply because the subject interests me. Not fatherhood itself – the treatment of it in society, culture & the media. Whatever they are. Joanne Limburg’s second collection, Paraphernalia, has many poems on the subject … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Lent 27: Promise

Jackie Kay was inspired to write much of her fourth collection, Life Mask, after having a bronze bust of herself made by Michael Snowden for Edinburgh Park, and meeting her Nigerian birth father for the first time. Her mixed heritage … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lent 26: Guest post on Frank O’Hara

My lovely friend Vanessa Napolitano has kindly provided this guest post for today! Many of my favourite poets and poems have been recommended my friends, or have been discovered through anthologies or magazines or reading for fun. Frank O’Hara was … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Lent 25: Newly Born Twins

Helen Farish’s first collection is called Intimates, and it is indeed intimate. The poems of love and relationships have recurring feeling of “thank goodness it’s over” (“I’m trying to pinpoint when / the accident of your humanity occurred.” and “Being … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lent 24: Civilization

In recognition of current news regarding same sex marriage in the UK, here’s a poem on the topic from Ian Duhig. It’s from his collection The Speed of Dark from early 2007, so it’s not the most current of treatments … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lent 23: The Present

Michael Donaghy was an Irish American poet who sadly died aged just fifty in 2004. His first two collections, Shibboleth and Errata are now sadly out of print. Some of his more recent collections are not, and there is also … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lent 22: Guest post on Philip Larkin

Today we have a guest post from the lovely Nicky Rowbottom! Out of all the poets I have read, the one I love the most is Philip Larkin.  His use of description and imagery is not always kind, but is … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Lent 14: August

This is my littlest sister’s favourite poem, by Esta Spalding. I can see why, there’s lots to it. I found this on a forum, she found it in Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, you can also find it … Continue reading

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | 1 Comment