on poets.

In short, they have freed me and they have inspired me to create and to love.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of watching a biographical film on the poet Sylvia Plath. One of the most memorable scenes is Plath listening to Ted Hughes define poetry:

"It's magic. It's not about magic. It's not like magic. It is magic. It's real magic. It's not conjuring tricks or pulling rabbits out of bloody hats. Incantations, spells, ceremonies, rituals--what are they? They're poems. So what's a poet? He's a shaman, that's what he is....A fucking good poem is a weapon, and not like a popgun or something. It's a bomb. It's like a bloody big bomb. That's why they make children learn them in school. They don't want them messing about with them on their own. I mean, just imagine if a sonnet went off accidentally...boom!"