Yes, I do often write poems from the mind, but I hope I don't ignore feelings and emotions.

There's no friend like someone who has known you since you were five.

I remain loyal to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in music and to Shakespeare and Jane Austen in literature.

A hobbyhorse can be a tiring ride for nonenthusiasts.

I did know Ted Hughes and I partly wrote the book to explain to myself and others the complexities of a marriage that was for six years wonderfully productive of poetry and then ended in tragedy.

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

There is far too much literary criticism of the wrong kind. That is why I never could have survived as an academic.