Where and when were you born?
In Reading ~~ which is pronounced Redding, which I mention for the benefit of those outside the UK. And it happened in 1952. The moon was full. There was a wind, but not a strong one.
Could you tell us something about your background?
My parents were working class, but I think it fair to say that they were upwardly mobile and my father’s promotions at work took us, financially at least, somewhere into the middle classes. He was an engineering draughtsman. I went to a grammar school, but it was a crappy 1960s-built grammar school and I was a very average student there. Later, when I was 28, I went to university as a mature student and got a First in Humanities ~~ my major was American Studies ~~ and then an MA in English & American Literature. Does that make me a late developer?
Were either of your parents or grandparents (or any other relatives) writers? If not, were any of your relatives actively interested in literature?
No. The only person in my family I know who reads books is me ~~ except my kids, who are so like me I’m scared for them.
Are any of your siblings writers or involved in a
creative profession?
No.
What was the first poem (or who was the first poet) that turned you on to poetry?
It wasn’t a poem or a poet, it was a trainee school teacher when I was 17 or 18. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and it all started there. Also, she was very cute. But I was always into words: I read when I was very young, and loved to read, and my favourite pop songs were always the ones with clever lyrics, I think.
What age were you when you first began writing poetry, and did you receive any encouragement?
It was then, at school, but of course it was complete rubbish, and also top secret.
When you started writing poetry did you have dreams about becoming a "professional" poet? If so, did anyone advise you against this course of action?
At that early age, no ~~ and nobody knew about it, so that was ok. I first “came out” when I was about 26 or 27, and went to a poetry workshop, but any notion of being a professional poet was never in my mind. I’m not sure what was in my mind, but certainly not that. I’m not sure it’s in my mind even now.
Did you ever get a poem published in your school
magazine?
Actually, yes. It must have been 1968 or 1969 ~~ I have no idea what it was called, but I know it was on the general theme of war being bad, and it should stop.
Did you go to university, and if so, which subject(s) did
you study?
When did you first start submitting to poetry magazines? And can you tell us how many rejections you received before having something accepted for publication? (And if you received many rejections, was this off-putting?)
I started sending stuff to magazines soon after I began going to the poetry workshop I mentioned. The guys running that were published poets, and knew their way around. I’m not sure how many rejections I got, but of course I got plenty, but then got a few things accepted in some places. Rejections were kind of off-putting, but evidently not off-putting enough to deter me from sending more stuff out.
What was the worst rejection you ever received?
I honestly can’t remember. I mean, I’ve been doing this for some 30 years now, and I can’t remember.
What was your first published poem? Which poetry magazine published it? And what year was it published?
I think it was in Bogg (such a marvellous literary name) ~~ a mimeo’d thing, really small press in the true sense of the word but at that time, around 1977 or so, also kind of well-known. I don’t have the poem now, but somewhere along the line of my somewhat ramshackle life history I’ve managed to lose whole files of poems, but it’s no big deal, I think.
Round about the time that you started seriously writing poetry, who were your literary heroes? And would you say they had an influence on your writing style?
Well, if I got properly serious around the late 70s (which I did) it was also the time I discovered the New York poets like Ashbery and O’Hara and Koch ~~ and they had a big influence. Still do.
Have you ever attended a creative writing course or been involved in a writers' group? If so, did you find it useful?
Like I said, a poetry workshop got me into this in a serious way. And it was good ~~ I learned a lot, and got some confidence, and made some friends I still have today. But it was an especially good and fine poetry workshop. I’m not sure they’re all like that. Since those days, I’ve taught on courses, and led workshops, but that’s another story, I suppose.
When did you put together your first collection of
poetry?
Well, I self-published a couple of things ~~ but then Jim Vollmar of Greylag Press invited me to do a pamphlet. It was “Baffled In Nacton”, and it was published in 1983.
What sort of critical response did you receive?
I’m not sure anyone actually read it …..
Is it still in print?
[Laughter]
At the beginning of your writing career did you enter any poetry competitions? Did you enter a lot or just a few? Did you have any success? And, with hindsight, what are your thoughts about the relative merits or demerits of poetry competitions?
No. I hate the idea of poetry competitions. Although I did judge a small one once ~~ I needed the money. I had to find 3 prizewinners and that was far from easy, believe me. The barrel had to be scraped.
Which of your poetry books has been the most successful in terms of sales, and how many copies has it sold to date?
I have absolutely no idea how many of anything has sold. I never ask, because I know we can only ever be talking a few hundred and details like that mean nothing to me.
Have you won any awards for your poetry?
[More laughter]
Do you make a living out of poetry?
[Now we are dissolving into hysterics]
If not, do you make an adequate living through poetry related activities such as teaching creative writing workshops? Or do you have to supplement your income through unrelated activities?
Well actually, I just got a Royal Literary Fund Fellowship based upon my “career” as a poet, so maybe I should stop laughing. But between the mid-80s and the mid-90s I did schools work, taught workshops and stuff like that, and barely survived. Then I got a job in a call-centre and began to relax and eat properly.
With the benefit of hindsight, are you glad that you pursued your dream of being a poet? Also, if you could turn the clock back, would you do anything different?
I never had that dream, it just happened. Usually I think my life has been a series of accidents, some fortuitous and some less so, and here I am.
If a young would-be poet approached you, which poets would you recommend as vital reading?
I’d say just get a huge anthology of British poetry, then another huge anthology of American poetry, read as much as you can, then when you’ve finished those go find something else. I don’t read enough, but I have good intentions.
Assuming that this would-be poet showed some promise, would you advise him or her to pursue a "career" in poetry?
My answer to this is coloured by the fact that I’m not a career poet, really. I mean, I publish, and do stuff, but I’m also a little self-destructive when it comes to my poetry “career” and don’t care very much about what happens. Having said that, if a good young poet came along I’d encourage them and tell them to go for it, because good poems are good poems and I wish there were more of them, but if they went for it and became shit because they got famous, I’d be pissed off but perhaps not altogether surprised. So I think I’d steer clear of giving any advice at all; probably they wouldn’t need it anyway.
Finally (and extremely hypothetically), you are selected to appear on the hit reality TV show, "Desert Island Poets", where you are marooned on a tropical island for three months with a typewriter and several reams of paper. You are provided with all necessary provisions, but you are only allowed to take three books with you. Your appearance fee is more than you could hope to earn in a decade and the show is so popular that all previous participants have become best-selling poets. So, would you participate? And if so, which three books would you take with you?
Yeah, it’d be fun. And I’d choose my Grove Press “The New American Poetry”; my Coleridge, and my Oxford Starter Chinese Dictionary ~~ I’m learning Chinese, and need to learn more vocabulary.
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