WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POETRY AND PROSE?

Poetry is, usually, shorter, and, in many but not all cases, the lines turn. I've become less attached to prose, especially prose that pretends to 'the poetic'. I'd rather read a book that's prosaic, in the true sense, than a 'poetic' novel. Some prose is poetry, of course, but not because it's poetic. I won't even start on hybrid works.

WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES ARE IDEAL FOR WRITING POETRY?

Free time and lack of distraction. Mostly those don't exist. So, I write within other pressures (pressure has its uses) and employ various ruses to tune out distractions. Also, you need books of all kinds, and a view, even if it's of a brick wall (shadows can work quite well).

WHICH POET WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TALK TO – AND WHY?

Sappho. Apart from getting the real gossip, I'd like to hear the ancient Greek metres and how her poems worked whole rather than as fragments. Or I'd have chat with Li Bai (Li Po) and Du Fu, about poets who are also civil servants; maybe we'd raise a wine glass to the moon.

DO POETS MOST NEED SOLITUDE OR A COTERIE?

Even if you're shy (I am), getting out is good, but I distrust gangs (they remind me of the schoolyard) and being pinned to ideas linked to a group. Solitude is when you write; that is what's important. It may not be a smart career move, but poetry isn't a career.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM REVIEWS OF YOUR WORK?

It's not a bad thing to be 'mis-read'; it simply spurs me on. It's good for a poet's intentions to never really be found out (even by the poet). Some reviewers have connected me to writers or other artists I actually know little or nothing of. I've enjoyed reading, watching, listening to people who've never influenced me, because a reviewer thought they had. Sometimes they do end up influencing me.

IF PLATO ALLOWED YOU TO KEEP ONE POEM IN HIS REPUBLIC, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

A republic will be full of poems. There'll never be just one poem. If they're banned, they'll simply proliferate (though that's not a reason to censor them).

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE LINE OF POETRY OR COUPLET?

No favourites but I like: 'So, we'll go no more a roving / So late into the night.' One reason is that Byron nicked lines from an old Scots ballad and rejigged them. Also, it sings.

IS POETRY GENERALLY APPRECIATED BY THE READING PUBLIC?

I've learnt never to make assumptions about readers, because I'm always coming across someone I don't know, someone not flaunting any sign of 'literariness', who responds quite specifically to my own work or other poets. I'm not convinced poets are the best audience for poetry.