Andrew Motion
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion, FRSLis an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work. In 2012, he became President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, taking over from Bill Bryson...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth26 October 1952
carry dream hope time
I write between 5.30am and 9.00. That way, I hope I carry over something from my dream time.
history human people poetry reading time
More people are reading poetry now than at any time in the history of the human race.
deal great national pattern poetry respectful schools spend time trying wider
I wanted to reimagine the role, in a way that was respectful of its traditional responsibilities but made them part of a wider pattern of poetry about national incidents, events, preoccupations; and to spend a great deal of time going to schools trying to demystify poetry.
examples good lives people plenty time trying written
There are plenty of examples of people who have had busy lives out there in the world, trying to do good, and written very well at the same time.
gone interested lived notice realised stevenson time unresolved whether wondered
I read 'Treasure Island' for the first time at university. And I started to notice then how unresolved some things were. Later, I realised that Stevenson was interested in sequels, and I wondered whether he would have gone back to it had he lived longer.
begin dragons early emails partly phone ringing sort starts time
I'm an early bird, partly because I like to have some quiet time and partly because by 9am emails begin arriving, the phone starts ringing and I have dragons to kill of one sort or another.
instant lingering readings
The readings are at once instant in their appeal, and lingering in their impact.
died extremely news seemed
It is extremely desolating news that he should have died when he was only 68 and always seemed so much younger,
bombs explains fear gust hills include light neither nor quite sudden tonight
Each sudden gust of light explains itselfas flames, but neither they, nor even bombs redoubled on the hills tonight can quite include me in their fear (Leaving Belfast)
beauty buy cheap figure gallery great intrinsic national natural picture portrait suggestive witty
Broodingly suggestive of Donne's intellectual figure as well as his witty sensuality, it is also a picture of great intrinsic beauty and the bewitching evocation of an age. The National Portrait Gallery is its natural home. The picture is cheap at the price, and if we don't buy it someone else will.
book deeply literature stricken written
This is a book written by someone obsessed, stricken and deeply loving. There is nothing like it in literature.
hear interests offer poems poets rights tone unique
Actors may (or may not) read poems well, but poets have unique rights to their work, and unique insights and interests to offer as we hear their idiom, pacing, tone and emphases,
allowed attention hard looked paying stop
When you're being looked at very hard, it's very hard to look back. And that made me stop paying attention to the world in a way that allowed me then to write about it.
centre life people poetry speaking stuff
Poetry is at the centre of my life, too, emotionally speaking, and intellectually speaking - it's just that I'm one of those people who enjoy doing other stuff as well.