Links to essays, audio, video, poetry, reviews & more

ESSAYS

See also the ‘Toktokkie’ page on this site.

Granta’s 'Music and Memory' feature, where I chose a selection of my favourite songs related to the Muse Mnemosyne and her playground: memory.

'On the Question of Voice' — and what it means for poets and all kinds of writers, on Hachette’s The Future Bookshelf site.

AUDIO

Recordings of my readings of my poems are available on The Poetry Archive.

A recording of my talk to UK’s D.H. Lawrence Society, focusing on Lawrence’s travels, his ‘savage pilgrimage’ and nature poetry from that time. I also read some of my poems from A Whistling of Birds which are inked to Lawrence and his iconic collection Birds, Beasts and Flowers.

Scottish Poetry Library podcast interview with Jennifer Williams in Edinburgh in October 2016 — apologies for the phone signal buzz! But what a thrill to have that conversation sitting at Scottish poet Edwin Morgan’s own writing desk …

VIDEO

Reading and discussion with Gregory Leadbetter and Patrick McGuinness for the launch of Gregory’s collection Maskwork (Nine Arches, 2020) | 22 October 2020 | 1 hr

Here’s a clip of my reading 'Late Knowledge' (from Bearings) for the Hwaet! anthology at the Ledbury Poetry Festival | 24 July 2016 | 4 min 54s
A note of apology and a correction: I realise I made an error in how I introduced my reading of this poem ‘Late Knowledge’, in memory of the Cradock Four – Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto, and Sicelo Mhlauli. Since my father is no longer alive, I can’t be sure and can’t check the details, but I think the funeral my father may have attended was Robert Sobukwe’s in Umasizakhe, Graaff-Reinet, in March 1978, and not Matthew Goniwe’s in Lingelihle, Cradock in July 1985. In thinking back to a conversation with my father about these two extraordinary and courageous men, Robert Sobukwe and Matthew Goniwe, both teachers who took up the struggle against apartheid, I conflated something my father said about the two funerals in my somewhat nervous introduction.

Reading ‘Plenty’ from A Fold in the Map at the Salt Celebration reading at Poetry Parnassus, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank |
30 June 2012 | 2 min 26s

Reading' The Balancers’ for Women for Women International as part of the Literary Bridge, a virtual Join me on the Bridge event initiated by Priya Basil and Authors for Peace for the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day | 2 March 2011 | 2 min 31s

Reading ‘A Buried Butterfly’ (from A Fold in the Map) at the launch of the Manhattan Review ‘Young British Poets’ edition (Vol. 13, No. 2) at the Oxfam Bookshop, Marylebone High Street, London | 29 June 2009 | 2 mins 13s

INTERVIEWS/Q&A

‘The Poetry of the Periodic Table: Isobel Dixon & Zoe Schnepp’ — an edited transcript of a talk that took place at Birmingham’s Think Tank in November 2016 as part of Little Atoms’ Two Cultures series.

‘The People Behind the Books: Isobel Dixon, Poet and Literary Agent in the UK’ — Isobel Dixon in conversation with Jaco Botha on LitNet —13 September 2016

‘Twilight of the Iguana’ — an interview on travel and the natural world, ahead of a Poetry School Summer School workshop I ran with artist Douglas Robertson in July 2014.

An interview and poems from The Tempest Prognosticator on Matt Merritt's Polyolbion blog — 9 January 2012

‘Utterly Salt: Isobel Dixon’ — Poem ‘The Root of It’ and Q&A with Andrew Philip on his Tonguefire blog, ahead of a reading during the Edinburgh Festival Fring — 6 August 2010

PUBLISHED POEMS AVAILABLE ONLINE
See also the Poems Page on this website:

‘Bede’s Sparrow’, New Statesman |18.5.22

‘Self-Portrait in Sweet Woodruff’, Herbology News |1.5.22

’Sweet Violet’, Bad Lilies, Issue 5 |December 2021

‘Threshold’, ‘Hawkweed Burning’ & ‘Our Doubtful Art’, Anthropocene | 4.4.21

‘My Sweet Fiorenza’ , The Florentine | March 2021

‘This, Evensong’, The National Poetry Library |24.4.20

‘April Incense’,The National Poetry Library, Poem of the Day | 24.4.20

‘Gentians for Carole’ in The Hudson Review, Spring 2020, ‘The British Issue’ |23.4.20

‘Matsephe’s Dance’ in the Johannesburg Review of Books |10.4.20

‘On First Spotting a Snake’s Head Fritillary’ on the Places of Poetry map (The Gardens at Dartington Hall, Totnes).
November 2019
Published in the Places of Poetry anthology (Oneworld, October 2020)

‘The Moving Finger’ on the Places of Poetry map (about my grandfather who grew up in Normanton, near Leeds).
November 2019.

‘The Landing’ in the New Statesman |10.7.19

'In Which the Capercaillie Ceilidhs On' in New Boots and Pantisocracies | 22.10.16

'Seville Yellow' from Bearings in The New European |18.10.16

’Cape Indifference’ in Aerodrome | 3.10.16

'9 a.m.' from The Leonids, in Aerodrome. | 6.9.16

’”A Part of Me is Gone’” from Bearings in the New Statesman | 16.8.16

'My Mother's Dress' from 'Notes Towards Nasturtiums' in The Leonids, in The Glasgow Herald |13.8.16

‘That Coyote Moment’ and ‘Messenger’ in Aerodrome | 13.5.15

‘Fred’ in the New Statesman |6.1.15

'Spew' on Rozalie Hirs's Vertaallab |10.6.12

An interview and poems from The Tempest Prognosticator on Matt Merritt's Polyolbion blog | 9.1.12

‘A Beautifully Constructed Cocktail’ in Magma 49, edited by Julia Bird

'Moth Storm' on Kathleen Jones's A Writer's Life blog. |12.9.11

Some poems from The Tempest Prognosticator on Michelle McGrane's Peony Moon blog | 4.8.11

7 Poems on Poetry International | 29.2.04