I Never Think About Poetry Except When

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.

When I Talk Of Hearing A Poet's Voice Speaking, I Always Think Of It As In The Presence Of The Man.

When I Was Asked To Be Writer In Residence At Edinburgh I Thought, You Can't Teach Poetry. This Is Ridiculous.

In Some Ways I'm A Reticent Man, And For Quite A Number Of Years There Wasn't Very Much Of My Real True Deep Feelings In My Writing.

And It's Impossible For Me To Read Henry James.