JosieHolford
Bumbarrel, Mumruffin and Poke Pudding
It was Clive Bennett who got me traveling down this particular track. He's a real birder and maintains a wonderful…
Lament in December
Lament In December December’s come and all is dead; Weep, woods, for summer far has sped And leaves rot in…
Communist, Nationalist, Fascist, Poet and Glasgow 1960
"I have too many books but I only have my shelf to blame." The pun came via Twitter. As does…
Back to the Future in Search of Doris Bass
I'm early but the staffroom is already blue with smoke and full of strangers who know each other. A row…
Thank You, Fog
There's the fog of war and there's the poetry of fog. A recent heavy mist in my patch of the…
An Invitation
What use is poetry? .... We have poetry So we do not die of history. - Meena Alexander I like poems…
Brexit, Beowulf and the Bum Trumpet
The day after the Brexit referendum our dear leader - then candidate for the presidency - was on his way…
Alive Day and A Diary Without Dates
Tammy Duckworth is a Senator from Illinois and fourteen years ago she was a captain with the Illinois National Guard…
A Few November Snowflakes
A few November snowflakes and the hits on my all-time most-read post start climbing the "Most Read This Week" list.…
The War is Too Much With Us
I thought of going back to France, but realised the absurdity of the notion. Since 1916, the fear of gas…
The Night City
If you've ever been young and full of dreams .... If you ever headed to the big city with your…
Sarah Parker Remond and the Cotton Workers of Lancashire
In a time of political darkness - when the ugly power of racism rears up - it is good to…
Suvla Bay, Gallipoli 1915
It seemed to them that they were to go on living like that, and writing like that, for ever and…
The Romance of Gregory Corso: Cypress, Marble, Moon!
“I hate poetry and all its fucking ambitious son-of-a-bitches who call me a showman because I act myself”. Gregory Corso letter…
Grave Responsibilities
There's a cat sanctuary in the grounds of the Pyramid in Rome. This rather incongruous Egyptian style pyramid was built in…