"My poems don't start from ideas, but from bits of language, maybe a turn of phrase that's like a tune that plays over…"

"I don’t have a favourite genre. I try to ready widely."

"There’s almost always a book of poems that I’m reading and I keep it by my bed or in my handbag if the book is skinny…"

"I’m reading a novel too – it’s called Concluding by Henry Green. It first came out when I was 6 years old but of cour…"

"If you want to write in a particular genre it’s likely you’ll read that genre. At the same time I sometimes find that…"

"I don’t often feel inspired. I try to keep writing and sometimes something unexpected happens and I find I’m writing …"

"Things that make me want to write vary."

"What I read is often helpful. Sometimes first lines of very good writers make me want to write my own poem almost as …"

"Sometimes being under a particular pressure makes me write easily. Which seems strange. Pressure might be a time cons…"

"Nobody has to be a writer. But when it’s going well it’s good fun and satisfying."