A straightforward question first. When did you decide writing was something you wanted to do? All my life and then, twenty years ago, realising that i was reaching middle age with no novel to show for it, I began writing. Did you consider practising any other art forms? Having made many programmes including drama, I…
The main thing I’d say about you as a writer is you’re quite incredibly productive. Books, poems, stories, essays, seem to flow from you more or less all day long. Has it always come easy? The first thing to say is that I write too much, which means, from a different angle of approach, that…
You are obviously hugely passionate about boxing. How did you first become involved? “I was always around East London growing up but I never felt I had a base, a home, as I was always constantly moving from one family member’s house to another and twice was taken into care, to kid’s homes. I never…
What drew you to poetry as individuals? Emily Prescott (EP):It may sound lazy but I think it’s the length. My first favourite poem was Carol Ann Duffy’s Mrs Dawnin: 7 April 1852. Went to the Zoo. I said to Him – something about that Chimpanzee over there reminds me of you. I like to think…
When did you decide writing was something you wanted to do? From about the age of 16. My family travelled around a lot when we were younger – my British-Italian father was in the army – and that seemed to give me permission to have an unusual sort of life. He was interested in literature…
Can you talk a bit about the day to day nature of editing a Diary. How do you find your stories and what the column means to you? You need to find lots of scandals and stories about famous people. And, here’s the ever-exhausting challenge: We need to regale our readers with entirely new information….