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

She stood upon a continent of ice, which sparkled between sea and sky, endless and dazzling, as though the world kept all its treasure there; a scale which balanced poetry and prayer.

Having a child takes you back to all those parts of your own childhood that you had hidden away.

I always wanted a child. Being a mother is the central thing in my life.

I grew up in a bookless house - my parents didn't read poetry, so if I hadn't had the chance to experience it at school I'd never have experienced it. But I loved English, and I was very lucky in that I had inspirational English teachers, Miss Scriven and Mr. Walker, and they liked us to learn poems by heart, which I found I loved doing.

Every day is a gift with a child, no matter what problems you have.

Poets sing our human music for us.