Carol Ann Duffy

“You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what's in your heart.”

“I like to use simple words, but in a complicated way.”

“Poetry, above all, is a series of intense moments - its power is not in narrative. I'm not dealing with facts, I'm dealing with emotion.”

“For me, poetry is the music of being human. And also a time machine by which we can travel to who we are and to who we will become.”

“Words, words were truly alive on the tongue, in the head.”

“I'm not a religious person, but I'm a spiritual person.”

“A poem is a form of texting... it's the original text.”

“I have a lot of faith in the power of the book.”

“I grew up in a house without books.”

“I enjoy the power of the poetic voice, the authority of the single line.”

“Education is a treasure, and scholarships are the key to unlocking it.”

“Poetry is the R&D department of literature.”