The poet and broadcaster, 55, on the power of forgiveness, growing up in care, loving poetry from the age of 12 and getting his OBE
From the age of 12, all I wanted to do was read and write poetry. When I wrote a poem – or I should say at that point, tried to write a poem – it felt like something was happening that was bigger than myself. Even now, strange things happen when I sit down and write. It’s like time moves at a different pace.
I was so proud to be the official poet of the 2012 Olympic Games. I think the Olympics did so much good for people. I live in east London and I still see the way it benefited people who live here. Simon Armitage told me that poetry was in the very first Olympics. I loved learning that!
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