For poetry there exists neither large countries nor small. Its domain is in the heart of all men. – Giorgos Seferis
Every man of action has a strong dose of egoism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be regarded as high qualities if he can make them the means to achieve great ends. – Giorgos Seferis
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
You pick up loads of baggage with your first record with reaction to it from fans and critics. So I went to Ireland by myself for a couple of weeks with my guitar. I read lots of poetry, I read Patti Smiths autobiography and started words and phrases and then songs started to take shape. – Ellie Goulding