It's like breathing in and out to me. It's like having a conversation with someone who isn't there. Because it has to be addressed to somebody - not a particular person, or very rarely.

I said I have no powers of invention. Well, I also have no powers of mimicry.

I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now.

I used to have a great love for Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, the big boys of the last century.

When I talk of hearing a poet's voice speaking, I always think of it as in the presence of the man.

And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so.

And in a way, that's been a help to me, because I take great passions for a particular poet - sometimes it lasts for many years, sometimes only for a while. This happens to everybody.