I first got
interested in sounds and poetry from an early age. I have
always liked the idea of poetry as a lyric, and that
includes the song lyric.
When I started writing it was hip to
visit folk clubs and listen to beat poetry recited to the
accompaniment of a guitar. I soon got bored with that.
My first real foray into the genre was
when I was fifteen and did the essential trip into the
wilderness to discover myself.
I hadn't yet encountered Jack Kerouac,
so my discovery of his book The Dharma Bums was
still a couple of years away. But there must have been
something in the air.
I hitch-hiked from
my home just north of London all the way to Penzance, and
then on to Lands End where I caught a small plane to St
Mary's, one of the Isles of Scilly.
Even that wasn't far enough. I cadged a
ride in a small boat to Tresco, where there were no roads,
no cars, and almost no people. I camped on a patch of ground
a few yards back from the sea.
I stayed a week, and tried to learn
something. I suspect I learned nothing in particular, but I
wrote the poem with the guitar accompaniment.