Poetry is but another form of inquiry into the nature of phenomena, using with its own unique procedures and tools. – John Barton
My obsession with time informs my poetry so completely it is hard for me to summarize it. We want time to pass, for new things to happen to us, we want to hold on to certain moments, we dont want our lives to end. – John Barton
No poem is easily grasped so why should any reader expect fast results? – John Barton
Writing can sometimes be exploitative. I like to take a few steps of remove in order to respect the privacy of the subject. If readers make the link, they have engaged with the poem. – John Barton
While also, importantly, not wanting to dumb it down or pretend the days of difficult poetry are over, because we live in a pluralist culture and theres room for difficult poetry alongside rap and everything else. And poetry wont be for everyone, but everyone should have the choice. – Andrew Motion
The hood-winked husband shows his anger, and the word jealous is flung in his face. Jealous husband equals betrayed husband. And there are women who look upon jealousy as synonymous with impotence, so that the betrayed husband can only shut his eyes, powerless in the face of such accusations. – J. August Strindberg