Douglas Dunn

A poet's cultural baggage and erudition can interfere with a poem.

Reading a poem aloud to an audience is gestural as much as precise.

I've always thought my poems told stories.

I've always liked Muir without knowing quite why.

A poem can have an impact, but you can't expect an audience to understand all the nuances.

The negative aspects of Scottish Nationalism are a kind of aggressive complacency, that sort of boasting; but that's an expression of insecurity, I think, of a lack of confidence.