John Greening
John Greening is a poet, critic and editor who has spent much of his life teaching adults and young people — in Scotland, the USA, and Cambridgeshire. Two years as...
The Writer As Outsider
Agatha Christie, for example, was so shy she would retreat from a party even as she stood at the door.
Life-changing Literature
Although the 8mm silent version of Milton’s epic never made it to a sheet of painted hardboard near you, I think I was onto something.
My Reading Habits
Those heaps of books in the living room left as if to mark my territory, with their scruffy bookmarks, torn up poetry drafts may, of course, be evidence of a project.
How Writing Changes The Writer
Writing poetry is about tuning in; language is the necessary crystal. Find the wavelength and everything connects with everything.
Why I Write
If you have to ask yourself why you write, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it. In my experience the best poems take both reader and author by surprise.
Writers Who Inspire Me
There are poets I love but will hesitate to read if I am in the middle of writing a poem because I know their style is infectious.
Writer's Block
Perhaps your subject went away; the war ended; you moved from your special place; the poet of youth grew old.
Letter To My Readers
Think of yourself as a baby dropped in a swimming pool. You won’t drown, and… may even find you’re enjoying the experience.
Marketing And Me
Buying books to sell at readings, buying more to send out as extra review copies; attending unlikely events in the unlikely hope that someone might be looking for poetry.