Many years ago, I found George Ella Lyons’ poem, ‘Where I’m From’ in a collection of American poets’ advice for young writers. It provides a welcoming frame for our own writing. It begins like this: I am from clothespins, From Clorox and carbon tetra-chloride, I am from the dirt under the back porch, (Black, glistening, it … Continue reading I am from
I have been digging up weeds in my garden and I have been learning about worms. They are amazing creatures, moving tons of earth every year, adding nutrients to the soil and making drainage holes that allow minerals to run deep into the ground and feed the plants that grow there. Yet there is very … Continue reading Up close
At the beginning of November, when it is getting chillier and afternoons turn dark, it is good to be inside in the warm. We like to be warm inside and out, so thoughts turn to hot chocolate, pumpkin soup, roasted chestnuts, and buttered toast with … what? Write about making toast: brown or white bread? … Continue reading Toasty
Hallowe’en is nearly here. Perhaps we should write a poem or story with Hallowe’en in mind. What about writing a story where something impossible happens? If you want us to believe your story, you need some really good, ordinary detail. Just imagine, you have to prove that you were at the park yesterday afternoon. If … Continue reading Pumpkin speaks
The poet, Alice Oswald, often places walking at the centre of her writing. She walks the distance of the rivers she has written about – the Rover Dart, the Severn – and she walks in the lanes around her Devon home. Last week, when asked what she had been doing during this time of enforced isolation, … Continue reading Magnifying glass
The artist, Richard Long, makes walking an art form. He documents the walks he takes in words and photographs. He often builds structures or carries stones from place to place, leaving then at points along the way. He once walked from the west to the east coast of England, picking up a stone from the … Continue reading Walk with a preposition
Writing Box 