Poem of the Month

A new poem will be placed here each month, usually from one of my published collections.

My poem for January 2020 is from my latest collection The Yellow Wheelbarrow (Melos 2019)

A SHORT HISTORY OF ETHICS

Much has been written

on the subject of The Good.

It echoes like a gong

calling us from our sins.

It could be painted

as a bright sun between fronds

of the thrashing sycamore,

a dish of brilliance,

a bright target.

A halo circles it

such as saints wore

in the dark churches

frequented in my youth;

made of tin, tarnished,

but operative as an example.

Crossings

There is a link to the piece of music, “Tales of the Invisible" suggested by my book Crossings on the composer’s Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s website. This composition was premiered in the summer at the Presteigne Festival shortly to be broadcast on Radio 3.

‘The Spoiled Priest'

My article on my father’s life as a seminarian in Rome in the 1930s based on his diaries was in the Christmas double issue of The Tablet magazine.

A New Poetry Collection

My new poetry collection, The Yellow Wheelbarrow, is now published by Melos Press.

It can be ordered directly post-free from the Melos site.

Highly Commended in Poetry London Clore Prize

My poem “Wodge” was one of two highly commended poems after the three winners in the 2019 Clore Prize

Talk at Presteigne Festival 23 August

I gave a talk at the Presteigne Festival on George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, looking at their relevance to the state of the world today.

TLS ‘Freelance’ article

My article on book collecting and the World’s Classics series appeared in the Times Literary Supplement of 26 April.

Spectator Poem

My poem “The Last Bus Home” was published in The Spectator 13 April 2019. It is a Liverpool poem placed in the 1970s when I was a student. Another poem, “Cooking in a Bedsitter”, was published in the same magazine on 18 May.

Aldous Huxley Talk

I gave a talk on 20 March at the Century Club on Aldous Huxley and Brave New World.

Poetry at the Music Room Bloomsbury

I read with A.C. Bevan and Cathy Galvin at The Music Room in Bloomsbury on 27th March to accompany the launch of Ian Harrow’s new Melos press poetry pamphlet, The Quiet Life.

Poems from the Welsh Borders

A new anthology of poems from the Welsh Borders is forthcoming from Seren Books and I am pleased to be one of many contributors.

Poetry Podcast

A podcast where I talk about Andrew Marvell and John Donne with Julia Copus has just been released on the Royal Literary Fund website.

Poem of the Month

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