Wendy Cope muses on the lines that keep coming back, the challenges of formal verse and how a poem can be seriously funny.

One of the UK's most popular poets, U A Fanthorpe talks about the history of English, "the experienced language", and gives her tips for overcoming writer's block. Find out why she would like to be Jane Austen . . . or a mountaineer.

Sujata Bhatt is a poet of many different cultures: in this interview, she talks about her travels and how they've influenced her writing and lets us into the "private and inner world" of making poems.

Did you know there is more than one Simon Armitage? In this interview, the best-selling poet and novelist introduces you to them and talks about the importance of voice in his work.

In this revealing interview Owen Sheers, one of the UK's most successful younger writers, talks about the influence of his Welsh heritage on his writing, from the landscape to the lives of the small-town boys he grew up with.

Join acclaimed poet Jo Shapcott in her Welsh retreat as she talks about the pleasures of science and music that inform her work - and the importance of getting up early to write!

Jean Sprackland talks about her inspiration and process for writing poetry.

Choman Hardi answers questions on her Kurdish background and the influence this has on her poetry and painting.

In this interview Adrian Mitchell, the UK's alternative Poet Laureate makes a passionate argument for the necessity of poetry. He also discusses how he gets ideas for his poems, where he writes them and for whom, (and why you should be careful what you say on the bus!)