12 February 2018
Between 2008 and 2012, I was a judge for the Eric Gregory award for poets under the age of 30. The prize was founded with the aim of encouraging young poets. Who could possibly object? One person did: a friend of mine in his 60s, who grimaced when he heard I was judging the prize. "Why is all the encouragement directed at young writers?" he asked. "What about those of us who first get published in our 50s?"