Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2009 | Page 41

INTERVIEW

life

The poetry in Motion
During a brief pause in his walk in the footsteps of
Tennyson, Roz Whistance discusses one Poet Laureate
with another
By Roz Whistance

HAD a black cloud and wild arctic winds

they were wild.” A pause for effect.“ In that

suddenly swept over this perfect afternoon in

time honoured country way.”

the grounds of the Farringford Hotel, it would

Nicely put, and delivered in his slow and

not have been more surprising. But maybe

tantalisingly soft tones which makes you fear

it was silly not to expect, when meeting the

you’re going to miss a gem.

just-retired Poet Laureate, a sudden exposure of
the soul.

His parents were not bookish – his father
hardly read at all – and it was only due to a

Sir Andrew Motion has just returned from

wonderful English teacher that, as he said, we

leading a ‘Tennyson Walk’, part of the hotel’s

were having this conversation today. “He gave

July celebration of the poet’s 200th birthday,

me my life.”

and with minimal turnaround time has been
interviewed by a radio journalist; has posed,
languidly with his scuffed volume of poems, for

That intimacy, as suddenly as a change in the
weather.
But the statement is not an exaggeration.

photographs, before he sits down with his pint

He came from a home without books to

to talk. After ten years in office he is a master

being that person required to create some

at promoting the cause.

masterpiece to commemorate a national event.

He is tousled by the wind and as relaxed as

How he came to change that rather dubious

you could expect a poet to be who is in the

honour of churning out poems to order just, as

home of his hero, yet is required to perform.

he says,“to get a kicking for it” in the press,

He is aware of his celebrity but wishes not to

to making the job of Poet Laureate that of

be.

national webmaster, is something he and I will

We sit outside the magnificent house, and
while there is not a wasted word – we are on

talk about. But we only have ten minutes.
It was his teacher, Peter Wade – who he still

an orchestrated tight schedule as the