Will Harris on Becoming a Poet

It can seem dauntingly difficult for a young poet to gain a name and to get published by a respected press or magazine. But that’s exactly what Will Harris has achieved with his 2017 pamphlet All this is implied, a collection that explores the complexities of being a person of mixed Anglo-Indonesian heritage.

In this conversation with Suzannah V. Evans, recorded at StAnza poetry festival in 2018, Will shares some advice for up-and-coming writers, borne of his own experience as an editor and now established author. They discuss creative writing degrees, the value of poetry magazines and the challenges and benefits of reading so much of the work of other poets when learning to be a writer. They also have a look at trends in contemporary poetry in the UK and the US.

Will reads three poems at the end: ‘Self-Portrait in Front of a Small Mirror’, ‘Identity’, ‘With Cornflowers’. These come from his collection All This is Implied, published by HappenStance.