I want to speak, to sing to total strangers. It's my way of talking to the world.

I use the language I use to my friends. They wouldn't believe me if I used some high-flown literary language. I want them to believe me.

The maiden Olympics had more to protest about than mere war, though. Central to its ethos was a rejection of two establishments the political one, certainly, but also that of the wider poetry world itself. It changed poetry for ever in the UK, ... It led to readings all over the country. You suddenly got more women reading and publishing poems, as well as gay guys and poets from all over the world. Until that time, published poetry had been very university-based white, male, middle-class. We were trying to break poetry out of its academic confines.

Written poetry is different. Best thing is to see it in performance first, then read it. Performance is more provocative.

Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.

There have always been poets who performed. Blake sang his Songs of Innocence and Experience to parties of friends.

Stadium rock and commercial rock are the opposite of what poetry needs. An audience of around 200 is ideal for poetry.