These days, the poets at our festival travel the world, sharing their work with audiences everywhere. But every career starts somewhere. What did they dream of becoming as children? Who were their heroes? And how old were they when they first stepped onto a stage, knees shaking?
Sometimes the circumstances are favourable, sometimes you have to fight for your place. But what all poets share is the urge to write, to shape the world and their thoughts into images, rhythm and form.
In this panel talk, moderator Geoffrey van der Ven takes his guests back to where it all began, all the way to their very first poem.
