What intrigues me about Philip James Bailey’s wonderful poem We Live in Deeds is its call to action. There’s something intensely motivating about the idea that we might fit a whole life’s worth of living into an hour, if only we had the courage. So often we are paralysed by our fears, concerns, worries and ‘what-ifs’, and we forget to dread the ‘what-if-I-don’ts’ instead.

Her partner, Jim Sheard, is an academic – and of course a published poet. He is supportive of her work, but it still took a while to convince him that they should buy the building, and live above the shop.Whilst I didn't necessarily love all the poems in this collection (question: is two bullet pointed sentences really a poem? idk) they all made sense with the explanation of their inclusion alongside, and the afflictions of the heart, mind and soul that they intend to treat. It also includes some of my favourites, plus many I hadn't heard of and now plan to read again.

Poetry is at its best when it can help to make some sense out of what it is to be alive and give us some of the meaning we seem to be searching for.” The Poetry Pharmacy in Bishop’s Castle What it’s like to be prescribed a poem I find that poetry helps to lower my stress levels and switch my thoughts from the consuming variety to calmer, more philosophical ones. It is the perfect way to relax after what have been challenging, but extremely gratifying, days of being part of a team producing a national newspaper from our homes. It’s a strange world we live in now, where almost nothing is like it is. Social media is full of avatars, people putting up a fake sense of self. They’re not saying, “I’m miserable”, “I’m lonely”, “I’m being betrayed” or “I’m sexually frustrated”– the last thing they’ll do is say how they might feel”.

I love her story, too, because it’s all about creativity finding its own unconventional path. Alma shows how we’re all free to invent our working lives, if only we have the imagination, along with the resilience and resourcefulness you need when you’re choosing to go your own way. My God, what a question! At the end of my difficult relationship, there was a poem by Derek Walcott called Love After Love. I prescribe it to people when they are heartbroken and/or they’re in love with the wrong person. It talks about being in love with your own rich and interesting life. Born in 1960, son of barrister Paul Sieghart, a human rights lawyer, and Felicity Ann Sieghart, chair of the National Association for Gifted Children, magistrate and later managing director of the Aldeburgh Cinema, William is the older brother of Mary Ann Sieghart. [3] He was educated at St Anne's College, Oxford. Prized Poems: Twenty-five Years of the Forward Prizes | Forward Arts Foundation". www.forwardartsfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. This anthology of anthologies draws on the ten Forward Books of Poetry published to accompany the prizes between 2001 and 2010.

If we feared boredom, or being boring, more than we feared the consequences of bold action, I can barely conceive of the marvellous things we’d create and the spectacular lives we could lead. There is such huge potential within us, and within the world itself, and yet for some reason we choose to live lives of constraint and repetition. Imagine if we didn’t. Everything they write is going to be weird or faulty, so they forget about it being a good or elevated piece of writing. They’re just struggling with the game. And learning how to play again. William Sieghart prescribes poetry to people for the mood or problem they are facing, this is a collection of some of his most commonly prescribed ones. I think I could’ve done without the compiler’s commentary—I don’t think he said anything that wasn’t already written more succinctly and beautifully in the poems he described. She and her fellow judges – Jamie Andrews of the British Library, plus poets Tara Bergin, Andrew McMillan and Carol Rumens – read a year’s worth of new collections plus selected poems from magazines and competitions before arriving at their choices.While reading poetry I often have the distinct impression that I am being good to myself. I get a real professional buzz out of working on this paper every night, but very soon afterwards I can be found with a poem or two in hand, and that gives me a real personal buzz.