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Welcome to The Jotter, my blog on books, writing, and culture.
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Behind the Scenes: How I Wrote 'Happy Hour' (Video)
Subscribe to Andrew's blog here and get his weekly newsletter every Monday with news of hsi latest writing. You can buy a signed copy of Happy Hour here:
Andrew Jamison
Nov 25, 20251 min read
Guest Poet: 4 Poems and a Note about Writing from David Briggs
It's a real delight and privilege to feature exclusive writing and insights from David Briggs, a poet I've long admired. You can buy copies of David's latest collection here: You can visit David's website here , or visit his SoundCloud page here to listen to his latest recordings. I hope you enjoy reading this and, if you do, please like and comment below. A Biographical Note: Since receiving an Eric Gregory Award in 2002, David Briggs has published four collections with
Andrew Jamison
Nov 11, 20256 min read
Keynote: What is a Poem?
Read Andrew Jamison's keynote poetry lecture, originally delivered at the University of Reading on Monday 20th October 2025. Subscribe to my blog here and join almost 200 others who get my weekly newsletter every Monday morning. What is a Poem? Lecture to Third Year Undergraduates University of Reading 20 th October 2025 1. A piece of writing or an oral composition, often characterized by a metrical structure, in which the expression of feelings, ideas, etc., is t
Andrew Jamison
Oct 21, 202523 min read
NEW POEM: 20.10.25
Pictured: The Quoile Bridge, Downpatrick.
Andrew Jamison
Oct 8, 20251 min read
Video: Reading of 'Listening to Ash'
Hear Andrew read 'Listening to Ash' from his debut collection Happy Hour (Gallery Press, 2012). You can buy signed, first editions of Happy Hour here:
Andrew Jamison
Oct 8, 20251 min read
EVENT: Poetry Reading - Thursday 2nd October - Abingdon Library
I'm delighted to be reading at Abingdon Library this coming Thursday as part of their National Poetry Day Celebrations - do come along if...
Andrew Jamison
Sep 28, 20251 min read
EXCLUSIVE: 5 Poems and a Process Note by Andy Eaton
In this exclusive post, American poet Andy Eaton shares five of his poems as well as a process note, exploring how and why he writes....
Andrew Jamison
Sep 22, 20255 min read
Desert Island Poems: Epic by Patrick Kavanagh
Homer Epic (1960) I have lived in important places, times When great events were decided; who owned That half a rood of rock, a no-man’s land Surrounded by our pitchfork-armed claims. I heard the Duffys shouting ‘Damn your soul!’ And old McCabe stripped to the waist, seen Step the plot defying blue cast-steel – ‘Here is the march along these iron stones’ That was the year of the Munich bother. Which Was more important? I inclined To lose my faith in Ballyrush and Gortin Til
Andrew Jamison
Sep 16, 20254 min read
Video: Reading of 'The Party'
This poem is taken from Andrew's second collection Stay, which you can buy signed, first editions of below:
Andrew Jamison
Sep 10, 20251 min read
NEW POEM: 15.09.25
The Party after Chekhov I can see you in the sunlight, Olga, Olga Mikhaylovna, Olga Mikhaylovna, a name that glimmers with its own sense...
Andrew Jamison
Sep 10, 20252 min read
Writing Prompt: Using Imperatives in Your Writing
Try out Andrew's latest weekly writing prompt and see where it takes your writing.
Andrew Jamison
Sep 3, 20251 min read
New Poem: 08.09.25
September Night ushers in September and streetlights flicker-flicker, the last long evening leaves but nobody grieves when the last leaf...
Andrew Jamison
Sep 3, 20251 min read
Desert Island Poems: An Introduction
Subscribe to the Desert Island Poems thread of my blog here .
Andrew Jamison
Aug 26, 20251 min read
Video: Meet the Poems 'All the Pretty Horses'
In this video Andrew reads and talks about a poem from his second collection, Stay. You can buy a signed, first edition of Stay here:
Andrew Jamison
Aug 20, 20251 min read
Meet the Poems: All the Pretty Horses
In this series, Meet the Poems, Andrew takes you through how he wrote some of his most popular poems. This is a poem inspired by Cormac...
Andrew Jamison
Aug 19, 20254 min read
5 Questions to Ask Yourself While Writing a Poem
To accompany the other posts I’ve written about questions to ask before and after you’ve written a poem, I thought I’d write another one concerned with the questions we should be asking ourselves while we’re writing. It’s important that as you develop your writing practice that you develop your inner critic, which is a voice which asks you questions as you write, such as the following: Do I need this word? At every point of your writing, you should be thinking about the purp
Andrew Jamison
Aug 19, 20254 min read
Writing Prompt: Using Characters in Novels
This week's writing prompt is centred around using characters from novels.
Andrew Jamison
Aug 19, 20251 min read
5 Questions to Ask Yourself After You’ve Written A Poem
"As a general rule, these are the five questions I'll ask myself at the end of writing a poem..." As a follow-up to my previous post...
Andrew Jamison
Aug 13, 20254 min read
5 Reasons to Write Blank Verse
Blank verse brings the music of everyday language to life. Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter , meaning it has 10 syllables with...
Andrew Jamison
Aug 13, 20254 min read
The Poet's Workshop Poetry Prize 2026
The Poet’s Workshop Poetry Prize 2026 is now open for entries! This year it's totally FREE to enter. Enter here. All you have to...
Andrew Jamison
Aug 8, 20253 min read
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