I always say that I'll have a go and see whether the poem works and if it does, then fine.

If I felt, in the event of a royal wedding, inspired to write about people coming together in marriage or civil partnership, I would just be grateful to have an idea for the poem. And if I didn't, I'd ignore it.

I write quite a lot of sonnets, and I think of them almost as prayers: short and memorable, something you can recite.

I am always pleased to be asked to write a poem.

Better off dead than giving in; not taking what you want.

I have piles of poetry books in the bathroom, on the stairs, everywhere. The only way to write poetry is to read it.

Like the sand and the oyster, it's a creative irritant. In each poem, I'm trying to reveal a truth, so it can't have a fictional beginning.