My poem 'Burying the Dead' received an Honourable Mention in the Dark Poets Prize 2026. Image: View of Kingston-upon-Thames Cemetery by IdR When you are burying your mother, not you personally of course, but other mourners in your name. And not exactly your mother, of course, because what is a dead body except for a dead body, barely fragments of flesh and bone held together temporarily during that unstoppable process of decay. In short, when you are burying your mother, it i

IdR at Acton Library by IdR The 'Dead Poets' Slam took place on 1st October 2026 at Acton Library, and was was hosted by poet Dean Atta and organised by poet Robin Vaughan-Williams, with the participation of some superb Spoken Word performers. The winner was the brilliant Sheila Moylan. As a homage to Federico García Lorca, I recited La Tarara, an old Spanish children’s song, as well as my English translation of the song. Lorca restored this 19th century composition, adapted

Here is a poem I wrote when visiting Orkney in 2026 - it is dedicated to Anton and Sally: Under the afterglow lingering from evenfall, I am standing on 59° North and it is here that I encounter the amorphous, ashen light anticipating lightning, dew appearing when it is not yet due. With our inclination to hyperbole, we the havenless need to find a place to rest, and I mean true rest. All around us, the sea (a glutinous mound) and this green land (like gates of horn) are