Don Paterson
@dharmabam.bsky.social
Scottish poet and musician
Pinned
Courses | North Sea Poets
Want to learn creative poetry techniques from the best? Explore our upcoming courses.
www.northseapoets.com
The new North Sea Poets ‘Writing With …’ spring course has just gone live. We’re running it over seven weeks from Feb (twice, on Weds and Saturdays) – but both dates are half sold out already, so do get your skates on if you’d like to join us … www.northseapoets.com/courses
Our spring ‘writing with …’ course (this time: windows, beasts, Jack Gilbert, lost objects and much more - well three things more) has almost sold out: only a few tickets left for both weds and sat series ... www.northseapoets.com/courses
Courses | North Sea Poets
Want to learn creative poetry techniques from the best? Explore our upcoming courses.
www.northseapoets.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Our spring ‘writing with …’ course (this time: windows, beasts, Jack Gilbert, lost objects and much more - well three things more) has almost sold out: only a few tickets left for both weds and sat series ... www.northseapoets.com/courses
Reposted by Don Paterson
The new North Sea Poets ‘Writing With …’ spring course has just gone live. We’re running it over seven weeks from Feb (twice, on Weds and Saturdays) – but both dates are half sold out already, so do get your skates on if you’d like to join us … www.northseapoets.com/courses
Courses | North Sea Poets
Want to learn creative poetry techniques from the best? Explore our upcoming courses.
www.northseapoets.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:34 AM
The new North Sea Poets ‘Writing With …’ spring course has just gone live. We’re running it over seven weeks from Feb (twice, on Weds and Saturdays) – but both dates are half sold out already, so do get your skates on if you’d like to join us … www.northseapoets.com/courses
there’s still just time to join me for the last of the winter webinars tomorrow morning - on ‘symbol’. this may be my most ambitious powerpoint yet. some of these transitions are berserk
www.northseapoets.com/events-1
www.northseapoets.com/events-1
Events | North Sea Poets
Explore our upcoming online poetry masterclasses and webinars.
www.northseapoets.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:24 AM
there’s still just time to join me for the last of the winter webinars tomorrow morning - on ‘symbol’. this may be my most ambitious powerpoint yet. some of these transitions are berserk
www.northseapoets.com/events-1
www.northseapoets.com/events-1
essay on Heaney over at the northseapoets substack … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Heaney on the Underground
Don Paterson on Seamus Heaney's choice of words
open.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:06 PM
essay on Heaney over at the northseapoets substack … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Just a week left to sign up for a mini-series of webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. In the following weeks I’ll be looking at ideas of poetic space and symbol ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1
Events | North Sea Poets
Explore our upcoming online poetry masterclasses and webinars.
www.northseapoets.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Just a week left to sign up for a mini-series of webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. In the following weeks I’ll be looking at ideas of poetic space and symbol ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1
just posted some fluff on fluff, deadlines and how to kiss on the radio open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
North Sea Line Caught, #2: ‘Kissing on the Radio’
Don Paterson on a short history of fluff
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
just posted some fluff on fluff, deadlines and how to kiss on the radio open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Lesley Harrison on excellent form, writing about bird-names, birdsong and poetry over at the northseapoets place:
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
‘Kwink’
A new essay by Lesley Harrison
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Lesley Harrison on excellent form, writing about bird-names, birdsong and poetry over at the northseapoets place:
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Reposted by Don Paterson
A frog poem from Reflector - my limited edition art book collaboration with #Dundee artist Stephen French: stephenfrench.art
October 15, 2025 at 8:19 AM
A frog poem from Reflector - my limited edition art book collaboration with #Dundee artist Stephen French: stephenfrench.art
New mini-series of winter webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. Come along and we’ll erm learn to demote that strong stress! etc. We’ll look at poetic space and symbol in the following weeks ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1
Events | North Sea Poets
Explore our upcoming online poetry masterclasses and webinars.
www.northseapoets.com
October 11, 2025 at 9:55 AM
New mini-series of winter webinars, starting with ‘The Joy of Scansion’ on the 29th Nov. Come along and we’ll erm learn to demote that strong stress! etc. We’ll look at poetic space and symbol in the following weeks ... Book individually or as a 3-in-1 at www.northseapoets.com/events-1
Wrote something on Harrison & class. Also scansion. But remember the first rule of Foot Club. open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Tony Harrison's 'Study'
Don Paterson on the best room
open.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Wrote something on Harrison & class. Also scansion. But remember the first rule of Foot Club. open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Reposted by Don Paterson
As for many poets uneasy in their class consciousness, Tony Harrison’s brilliant controversial long poem V. (1985) blew me away when I first read it. But his short lyrics were sharp, wise, and deeply moving, too, cut from lived life. Saddened to hear the great man has passed. RIP.
September 27, 2025 at 11:43 AM
As for many poets uneasy in their class consciousness, Tony Harrison’s brilliant controversial long poem V. (1985) blew me away when I first read it. But his short lyrics were sharp, wise, and deeply moving, too, cut from lived life. Saddened to hear the great man has passed. RIP.
Reposted by Don Paterson
me banging on about Woodman, Plath and spirit photography … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
On Francesca Woodman, Plath and Spirit Photography
Don Paterson on the art of the self-timer
open.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
me banging on about Woodman, Plath and spirit photography … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Great piece from Lesley Harrison on Inger Christensen and writing under the shadow of the Bomb … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Writing the Last Word
Lesley Harrison on the poetry of Inger Christensen
open.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Great piece from Lesley Harrison on Inger Christensen and writing under the shadow of the Bomb … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Niall C on winkles, animism, and a frequent topic of conversation round here – Jack Gilbert.
substack.com/@northseapoe...
substack.com/@northseapoe...
On the World That Calls Back
Niall Campbell on Jack Gilbert and the world’s response
substack.com
August 22, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Niall C on winkles, animism, and a frequent topic of conversation round here – Jack Gilbert.
substack.com/@northseapoe...
substack.com/@northseapoe...
Repost, now with added silence. Occurred to me belatedly that some folk did not read ‘great’ as ‘elder statespersons of international standing’ as per the author’s intentions, but ‘dead good’. I think we can still all agree there are plenty of those.
open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…
open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…
https://open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…
August 20, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Repost, now with added silence. Occurred to me belatedly that some folk did not read ‘great’ as ‘elder statespersons of international standing’ as per the author’s intentions, but ‘dead good’. I think we can still all agree there are plenty of those.
open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…
open.substack.com/pub/northseapo…
Reposted by Don Paterson
“A poetry of self-conscious listening, of placing sound carefully. Like the plover, here I am, sitting on this stone, testing out sounds and patterns in order to record how it is to be here in this now.”
—Lesley Harrison, “Do Birds Sing?”, in @pnreview.bsky.social
www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/do-b...
—Lesley Harrison, “Do Birds Sing?”, in @pnreview.bsky.social
www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/do-b...
PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine - Do Birds Sing? - Lesley Harrison - PN Review 284
One of the outstanding poetry journals of our time.
www.pnreview.co.uk
August 14, 2025 at 1:15 PM
“A poetry of self-conscious listening, of placing sound carefully. Like the plover, here I am, sitting on this stone, testing out sounds and patterns in order to record how it is to be here in this now.”
—Lesley Harrison, “Do Birds Sing?”, in @pnreview.bsky.social
www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/do-b...
—Lesley Harrison, “Do Birds Sing?”, in @pnreview.bsky.social
www.pnreview.co.uk/archive/do-b...
Just posted a thing on misreadings, facepalms, iron, milk and spiders, and my most brutal encounter with Robert Frost yet …
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
The Long Game
Don Paterson on the truth about iron, spiders and milk
open.substack.com
August 1, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Just posted a thing on misreadings, facepalms, iron, milk and spiders, and my most brutal encounter with Robert Frost yet …
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Wonderful piece by Karen Solie on Fanny Howe, over at the northseapoets place …
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
What Did You See?
Karen Solie remembers Fanny Howe
open.substack.com
July 25, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Wonderful piece by Karen Solie on Fanny Howe, over at the northseapoets place …
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning …
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
The Rhyme of Things: a new approach to metaphor with Don Paterson | North Sea Poets
In this class, Don Paterson will explore a radically different approach to poetic metaphor, one which can unite image, detail and tone through deep and sometimes hidden connection.
www.northseapoets.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning …
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning …
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
The Rhyme of Things: a new approach to metaphor with Don Paterson | North Sea Poets
In this class, Don Paterson will explore a radically different approach to poetic metaphor, one which can unite image, detail and tone through deep and sometimes hidden connection.
www.northseapoets.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:32 AM
There’s still time to join me in some rather strange poetic territory this saturday morning …
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
www.northseapoets.com/events/the-r...
escape the dreadful heat & embrace your inner sleet - only a couple of places left on John Glenday’s guide to poetic weather next week: www.northseapoets.com/events/a-wea...
A Weather Eye with John Glenday | North Sea Poets
In this immersive 90-minute workshop we'll use examples, discussions and quick-fire exercises to create new work, focussing on the inner weather of the poem.
www.northseapoets.com
July 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
escape the dreadful heat & embrace your inner sleet - only a couple of places left on John Glenday’s guide to poetic weather next week: www.northseapoets.com/events/a-wea...