In an interview, Hilary Mantel once said, "I like putting my hand out to the dead and seeing who will take it." I have much the same feeling about, Chosen Sisters, my current poetry project, which focuses on the lives of women from the past who lived in intimate relationship with other women, or wanted … Continue reading Putting a hand out to the dead
While I'm in Wales, working on my 'dead lesbians project' at Gladstone's Library, top of my list for a day trip was Plas Newydd, home to the Ladies of Llangollen. I'd already read Elizabeth Mavor's excellent account of their lives, 'The Ladies of Llangollen: A Study in Romantic Friendship', and the snippets from Eleanor Butler … Continue reading Plas Newydd, the Ladies of Llangollen, and a treasure from the archive
I'm delighted to share that I will be spending the whole of May 2026 on a writing residency at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden. It will be such a privilege to be able to live and write in such beautiful surroundings, and I feel very fortunate to be able to take a whole month away from … Continue reading Two events at Gladstone’s Library in May
I'm delighted to have a poem published in a new Faber anthology, Family Lines, edited by Simon Armitage and Rachel Bower. It's Muscle Memory, a poem inspired by a Christmas Eve service in Norwich Cathedral which I took my Dad to not long after he had moved into a care home. My Dad has always … Continue reading Family Lines
It was a dream come true to have the opportunity to read and talk about three poems from The Opposite of Swedish Death Cleaning on BBC Radio 4's The Verb, hosted by Ian McMillan, and alongside guests Fiona Benson, Boo Hewerdine and Yvonne Lyon. The show is available on BBC Sounds, and also as a … Continue reading Fathers, witches and things that fall out of books: The Verb, with Ian McMillan