what is your name?
Robert Warrington.
how would you describe what you do?
I write poems and sometimes plays.
what are you currently working on?
I’m always working on a poem. My playwrighting seems to have stalled.
what has been the greatest influence on your work?
Probably my English teacher at school. For encouraging me to write in the first place.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
About my work that it’s any good. I think everything I do is terrible. Even the things some people rave about I always think are hopelessly inadequate.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
The problem with plays is unless they’re revived or filmed or the text is published they disappear into the ether. The problem with poetry is the audience is always going to be smaller than you want it to be, no matter what kind of poetry you write.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
I’m not sure that is has in terms of the way it’s put together, but I started writing pre-internet and it felt like an isolated activity for quite a long time. It feels much less that way now. I’m more aware of other artists and of what they’re doing. Also the possibilities of communication and collaboration are vastly increased.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Don’t question everything you do to the point where you can’t do it. Don’t be like me.
where can we find you online?
Here and there in the litzines. I sometimes pop up in American ones like Zygote in my Coffee and Cherry Bleeds and British ones like The Beat and Beat the Dust. Also on Paul and Wendy’s website Writers, Prizefighters and Caffeine Inspired All-nighters.
But mainly at the moment on my own website at: http://robertwarrington.com
what are you reading at the moment?
I’m going through the collected poems of Thom Gunn. Some of these are familiar to me, many I’ve never read before.
what are you listening to at the moment?
A CD of music from, and inspired by, the HBO series True Blood.
anything else we should know?
I’ve no idea what my next creative move is at this point. Maybe I should take a step sideways and do something I’ve never done before. Sometimes I wish I had a plan but it doesn’t seem to work that way.