A book of interviews which should prove very useful to poets aiming to improve their skills, and is already on the reading lists of several universities, is being launched next month.

Journalist and poetry tutor Rosanna McGlone interviewed a number of award-winning poets, including Don Paterson, Sean O’Brien, Gillian Clarke, John McCullough, Hannah Lowe, Kim Moore, Liz Lochhead, and Joelle Taylor, and asked them for early drafts of poems, as well as the final versions, and to explain the reasons how the poems developed.

McGlone says in her preface that her book “raises a number of questions. Where does a poem originate? How do you decide on a title? When do you choose the form for your poem? What are the best approaches to editing your work? When would additional input help? How do you know when a poem is finally finished? What should you consider when assembling a collection? What is a publisher seeking?”

The Process of Poetry, edited by Rosanna McGlone, will be published by Manchester’s Fly On The Wall Press on 18 December