New and Collected Poems

"Yes – she was an amazing poet. She died a year ago, and they brought out her complete poems. It made you realise what an important poet she was and what an important influence she had on poets. She changed the way we all write. Her language was a common language and it was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. She was one of the finest poets writing in the 21st century. U A loved England and its history and traditions. I recognise that from my love of Wales, and my own history. England is a friendly stranger to me, and its class distinctions, especially, are quite foreign. U A’s poetry enlightens, and explains some of the mystery. Perhaps one of my favourite of her poems is the one about London rivers, lost now in culverts under the city. ‘Rising Damp’, the title, I think."