Questions

Is poetry dying?
Poetry is death-defying.  Wide awake and pleased as punch, take the biscuit out to lunch, it’s all around.  We can’t just dump it.  Like it or lump it.

What’s the difference between poetry and performance poetry?
One’s more for sitting on the page, one’s more for someone to stand on a stage with.  There’s poetry that requires reading, there’s poems that demand more of a din.  I’ve got a poem which needs the paper it’s written on to be folded into an aeroplane and I’ve got others which need throwing in the bin.

Why do you write about dogs?
When I was about three, I kept a grey stuffed toy dog with shiny beady eyes.  I called him Pet.  He was one of three animals in the little animal club I used to cuddle at night.  The other two were a lamb and a pony, but they had no names, except lamb and pony.

Do you have an obsession with potatoes?
When I was about three, I also kept a pet potato but the others wouldn’t let him join the club.

What is your favorite saying or proverb?
Love your enemies.

What is your favourite chat-up line?
You must be an enemy, because I love you.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My deeply treacherous nature.

What annoys you most about drivers?
Their cars.

How does it feel being a poet?
Like a pet with a collar.

Poet, with literature.