Andrew Motion

“Poetry is the most intimate of all the arts.”

“One of the things that's most difficult in life is to be consistently kind.”

“A line of poetry is a chance to get things right.”

“What poetry does is touch you on the shoulder and say, 'there's something else going on here'.”

“To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.”

“The great thing about poetry is that it's always in a state of becoming.”

“Good poems are the ones that we can't quite get to the bottom of.”

“Even if you're writing a sonnet, which is a very strict form, you can still have a lot of freedom within it.”

“The sound of a poem is a very important part of its meaning.”

“Poetry is a way of talking about things that are unsayable.”

“I don't think you can be a good poet without being a good reader of poetry.”

“Teaching is a very good way of keeping your own mind alive.”

“The worst thing in the world is to be bland.”

“Writing a poem is a way of discovering what you think.”

“Poetry is a place where you can be yourself, and yet you are also speaking for other people.”

“Every poem is a form of autobiography.”

“I'm very interested in the way that people's lives are shaped by the places they live.”