I am a poet and writer based in Bristol, UK. I have had a long and varied career as an academic, working at universities in England, Scotland, China and Hong Kong (before Hong Kong became part of China!). During all this time, I have written, published and performed poetry, and am now able to devote my energies full-time to poetry.
As a poet, I am interested in politics and social issues, developing from such masters as W.H. Auden and Adrian Mitchell; but many of my poems add a surreal tinge to the everyday. I am also fascinated by the interplay between poetry and music, and was for a time engaged with two other poets, Gillie Harries and Tim Vosper, and a jazz duo, Jake’n’Charlie, in a venture called Echoes and Edges.
I have performed at venues in London (including the Barbican Centre), Norwich, York, Bristol, as well as Denmark and Hong Kong. I have recently been long-listed in the Poetry Society’s Annual Competition, and short-listed for the Brian Dempsey Memorial Prize. I have published in magazines such as PN Review, Ariel, Agenda and Encounter, and have also published ten poetry collections, one of the most recent, Ship’s Log, with Bristol Books.
Some of my published books and CDs are available for purchase on my website, along with details of other publications of mine. There is also more information to be found about forthcoming publications, readings and performances.
