George Murray

The whole competition thing disturbs me. Not that I wasn't a part of it when I first started. ”

I wanted to rock back and forth between myth and distant futures, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It felt a bit like prophecy and a bit like storytelling. ”

It's a bit of a crapshoot out there with young writers right now anyway. ”

Even the people who have had success and made money writing these books of fiction seem to feel the need to pretend it's no big deal, or part of a natural progression from poetry to fiction, but often it's really just about the money, the perceived prestige. ”

I'm not interested in being easy anymore. Readable, yes. Easy, no. ”

I think, for me, humour needs to be used like a strong spice - sparingly. ”

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone having to read a poem twice. Or even a book. ”

I am certainly suffering from a modicum of performance anxiety. ”

I think the main influence has been living in New York City. Aside from all the crap around 9/11, I find it very demanding to think amid all the noise and visual pollution. ”

Well, we all start thinking we're going to be Romantic rock stars, but then reality hits and you realize no one reads you but other poets. ”