Rob profile picture

Rob

You're greedy for the verse.

About Me


I'm primarily a poet, and I'm currently doing an MA
in Poetry at Royal Holloway, University of London.

You can see some of my work at www.robertselby.co.uk

My Interests

Poetry, literature in general - reading and writing - cricket, football (Crystal Palace FC season ticket holder), rugby (Bath and England), music, and a well-known obsession with The West Wing.

I blame The West Wing for an interest in politics, though I hope I'm not too much of a wonk.

Paradise is cheese on toast and a mug of tea.

Music:

Current: Maximo Park, Interpol, We Are Scientists, Sigur Ros, Tapes 'N Tapes, Futureheads, The Long Blondes, Polar Bear, elbow, Good Shoes, Turin Brakes, Forward Russia!, Mew, Ambulance Ltd, British Sea Power, Brakes, THE RATFINKS, Enya, Doves, Divine Comedy, Tom McRae, Belle & Sebastian, Tindersticks, Lambchop, Nick Cave, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Kate Bush. Past: The Housemartins, The Smiths, The Jam, Morrissey, Roxy Music, Gang of Four, Dire Straits, Johnny Cash.

Movies:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation (two superb soundtracks as well), Garden State, Glory, Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine.

Television:

The West Wing, Garth Marenghi, University Challenge, Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, Channel 4 Cricket - now sadly defunct.

Books:

Simon Armitage
WS Graham
Geoffrey Hill
Ted Hughes
Nick Laird
Philip Larkin
Robert Lowell
Derek Mahon
John Stammers
RS Thomas
Hugo Williams
Gerard Woodward

Heroes:

Don't really have any. However, I admire: Nasser Hussain (former England cricket captain), Michael Atherton (the same), Mark Nicholas (former anchor for C4 cricket), Richie Benaud (legendary commentator).

My Blog

Two poems in Succour Magazine

I've just found out I have two poems included in the November issue of Succour Magazine, the journal of new fiction and poetry.Check details of the mag here: http://www.succour.org/One of those to app...
Posted by Rob on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:41:00 PST

www.robertselby.co.uk

I've done a bit of fiddling with the site. There's some new news and a couple of new poems.Check it out. Rob....
Posted by Rob on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:32:00 PST

WH Auden - Happy Birthday

A hundred years ago today, in York, W(ystan) H(ugh) Auden was born. He became Britain's most prominent poet in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and is recognised as one of the finest of the 20th century. He di...
Posted by Rob on Wed, 21 Feb 2007 05:18:00 PST

Bob of Kent, in pictures....

There was a young nobleman called Bob, who was born in Sevenoaks Hospital in 1984. Sevenoaks is a market town in the Garden of England, the Hop County, Kent. That made Bob a Kentish man. As you can s...
Posted by Rob on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 01:39:00 PST

A poem for you....

... by the legend Philip Larkin. Please post your own favourites underneath if you wish. Go on, you know you're greedy for the verse Poetry of DeparturesSometimes you hear, fifth-hand,as epitaph:He ch...
Posted by Rob on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 01:17:00 PST