It's Not As If I'm Trying To

For Whatever Reason, People, Including Very Well-educated People Or People Otherwise Interested In Reading, Do Not Read Poetry

The Point Of Poetry Is To Be Acutely Discomforting, To Prod And Provoke, To Poke Us In The Eye, To Punch Us In The Nose, To Knock Us Off Our Feet, To Take Our Breath Away.

Last Year I Was A Judge For A Prize In England, The T.s. Eliot Prize, So I Read Everything That Was Published In England Last Year.

I Suppose For Whatever Reason I Actively Welcome Being Put Down, Something Which Perhaps Goes Back To My Upbringing - That Accusation Of Not Being Worthy Which Could Be Laid At One's Door.

On The Other Hand, At Some Level The Mass Of Unresolved Issues In Northern Ireland Does Influence The Fact That There Are So Many Good Writers In The Place.