About the Project
This project began with students of CMW1001: Introduction to Writing – Poetry at the University of Middlesex in Spring 2012. Students were each assigned to interview a poet, and collaborated in class on developing a pool of “burning questions.” The initial project produced 68 interviews, but the site plans to grow! It was inspired by Angela Rawlings’ The Great Canadian Writers’ Craft.
The name of the site, “I Don’t Call Myself a Poet,” was inspired by a phrase used by some of the poets interviewed, who pointed instead to poetry as a process, practice, engagement, or as one identity among many. It conveys the often self-deprecating nature of British poets and poetry, as well as the sense of community, of being part of poetry rather than being “a poet”, described in many of the interviews.
I Don't Call Myself a Poet 
This is a cracking project, packed with wonderful, thought-provoking comments and surprises. But am I right in thinking that almost all the poets interviewed live in England (even those who were originally born and brought up abroad). Are there any from Wales, Scotland (apart from WN Herbert) and Ireland?
Hi Robert:
Thanks! Andy Jackson is Scottish and still lives and works north of the border, and both Sandra Alland and Kit Fryatt live in Scotland. Roddy Lumsden is Scottish but now lives in London.
We have a number of poets from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales lined up for our next round of interviews — as word of the project spreads, I’m sure there will be even more!
What a find – what a great project! Is it possible to suggest poets I would love to see interviewed?
Hi Kate: The project is on hiatus for the moment, but suggestions are always welcome.