Carol Ann Duffy

I like to think that I'm a sort of poet for our times. ”

Like the sand and the oyster, it's a creative irritant. In each poem, I'm trying to reveal a truth, so it can't have a fictional beginning. ”

I see the shape of the poem before I start writing, and the writing is just the process of arriving at the shape. ”

The moment of inspiration can come from memory, or language, or the imagination, or experience - anything that makes an impression forcibly enough for language to form. ”

Between 9am and 3pm is when I work most intensely. ”