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The first guest in our Poetry Book Club series is Tony Harrison, who discusses his ongoing ‘From The School of Eloquence’ sonnet sequence, a project he has been working on throughout his writing career. Ian takes Tony back to his childhood in Leeds, growing up, as he says ‘in search of a ceremony of articulation’. It was a search that led him to poetry. Through questions from Ian McMillan and our Poetry Book Club audience, Tony offers insights into his relationship with form, which he says allows him to be creative. He explains how poetry has allowed him to engage with difficult topics and to ‘make the private public’ and how poetry can be a way to bridge the gap that differences in education can create amongst families and communities. Finally, reacting to a media landscape lacking in diversity, Tony implores us all to ‘use your own voice’.

The Poetry Book Club was recorded at the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Newcastle University.