My parents were willing to let me follow my nose, do what I wanted to do, and they supported my interest by buying the books that I wanted for birthdays and Christmas, almost always poetry books.
I don't think poetry has a readership anywhere, really, that's that big.
I don't believe that poetry is in danger because nobody wants to read it or appreciate it. There is a tremendous audience for it on any given day or night. You just have to know where to look.
I'm not a great poetry fan.
I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding.
The biggest problem is people are afraid of poetry, think they can't understand it or that it will be boring.
I just discovered when I was, oh, 12 or 13, that I was very interested in language - and this showed itself as poetry. There was no looking back.
More people than ever are slowly but surely turning their ears toward poetry.
I did not have a very literary background. I came to poetry from the sciences and mathematics, and also through an interest in Japanese and Chinese poetry in translation.
In school I was sidelined by Tamil language teachers. But in the film industry, I got interested in Tamil poetry after reading and working with the Vairamuthu.
