A hell of a summer

It's been the worst month of my life. My father died, unexpectedly, and the fallout has been horrible to deal with. I suppose the fallout will take me much longer than a month to really deal with, but at least the worst is over now.

Things like this make you realise how true all the cliches are, and precisely why they became cliches. That life is so short and therefore precious; that what really matters is family; that all that can save us from the black hole is human love. Dreadful hokum , I would normally think, but it seems like poetry right now. It's certainly made me see afresh how lucky I am, and how beautfiul the world still is, despite our best efforts.

A few different artists have helped me through this time. I've found myself turning again and again to the collected poems of Raymond Carver. Poetry for people who might not read poetry, its simplicity occasionally disguises nothing at all, but more often communicates a real profundity; the kind that doesn't need to show off, that just is, that finds its expression in the everyday.

Then there's music. I have just discovered Northumbrian folkies Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, whose new album is a quiet treasure, and whose cover of the stunning border ballad 'Fareweel Regality' is appropriate and almost tearjerking. Slightly north of their homeland we find brilliant guitarist and songsmith Alasdair Roberts, who I've liked for a while but who I like more now that I've heard his fabulous new album The Amber Gatherers. His lyrics are poetry too; they connect to something much older than he is, as if someone else were speaking through him. Plus his tunes are catchy. I really need catchy tunes right now.