Q
Where do you get your ideas for poems?
Q
Where do you write your poems?
Q
Do you get inspiration from your readers?
Q
How long does it take you to write a poem?
Q
Can you read me one of your poems about school?

Transcript

Q

Where do you get your ideas for poems?

A

I get ideas for new poems from all over the place, from people I meet, places I visit and also from small objects you could find anywhere, like a blade of grass, or a small stone, or a shell or even the skull of a sheep similar to this one I found on the North York Moors and I was able to turn it into a new poem. This is a very short poem in a particular form called a Haiku:

Sheep's Skull Whitened and toothless,
discovered in a damp ditch.
A trophy for home.

from Morning Break and Other Poems (Cambridge University Press, 1989), copyright © Wes Magee 1989, used by permission of the author and the publisher

Q

Where do you write your poems?

A

I'm sitting in a little stone building half way down my garden and I call it 'The Hut' and this is where I do all my writing. It's nice to be able to get away from the house and to be absolutely private and on your own and of course nobody's going to worry whether I leave papers or books lying around. I can make as much mess as I like.

Q

Do you get inspiration from your readers?

A

I do get inspiration from my readers and I meet many of them when I visit schools as an author for a book week, or a book day or a book festival. It's interesting to watch what children are up to in schools and to note the peculiar habits of teachers and head teachers.

Q

How long does it take you to write a poem?

A

It takes me a long time to write a poem because I do work very slowly. Once I've got a subject matter I then try to work out a rhyme scheme and also give the poem a particular shape on the page. I do like to make each poem look different and sound different.

Q

Can you read me one of your poems about school?

A

What's Behind the Green Curtain?

"No! No! No!"
That's our Headmaster going on and on at morning assembly in the Hall.
Bored, I stare at the green curtain hanging behind him on the wall.
...behind that green curtain, is there a non-smoking dragon with a code dinnis doze,
or a mini Mercurian with eyes on its toes?...

"No Fighting! No Thumping! No Punching! No Clumping!"
...behind that green curtain, is there an ogre devouring an ox,
or a fox in a box, in a box, in a box?...

"No Kissing! No Clouting! No Kicking! No Shouting!"
...behind that green curtain, is there a monster with worms on its face
or simply an empty and echoing space?...

"No Running! No Dreaming! No Spitting! No Scream----!"
Suddenly, a hand, a huge, hairy, horrible, horrendous hand appears,
grabs our Headmaster and hauls him behind the green curtain.
We gaze amazed, then realise he's gone, he's gone...for certain! He's gone!
No fuss, no mess. We jump up, punch the air, and shout, "Yes!" "YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

copyright © Wes Magee, used by permission of the author

More from Wes Magee

Poems

Featured in the Archive

Close