Former poet laureate Andrew Motion reflects on the books that shaped him, from childhood favourites to late-life discoveries, in an interview about his reading life.
Early reading memories
Motion grew up in a family where reading was not a priority. His father claimed to have read only half a book in his life, Hammond Innes's The Lonely Skier, while his mother read three or four novels a year. However, Motion recalls enjoying a gift from his grandmother: My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, a book he found amusing and ingenious at around age seven.
Teenage influences
At his first school, Motion acquired Lawrence Durrell's White Eagles Over Serbia, which his parents deemed unsuitably violent. He never finished it but carried it around as proof of his maturity. Later, at secondary school, his history teacher read Wilfred Owen's poetry during a lesson on the First World War, igniting his passion for poetry. Motion bought Owen's Collected Poems, which became a sacred text for him and remains so today.
Becoming a writer
Motion did not consciously aspire to be a writer until he found himself writing. He began composing poems while studying his A-level anthology, Theme and Variations, edited by RB Heath (1965). Despite its unappealing title, the anthology made him feel like Howard Carter breaking into Tutankhamun's tomb.
Rediscovering Alexander Pope
Motion initially struggled with Alexander Pope's An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot, baffled by its references. He could not appreciate Pope's genius until later. Now, 50 years on, Pope is one of the poets Motion most admires.
Rereading favourites
Motion regularly rereads Wordsworth's The Prelude in its earlier versions and John Berryman's 77 Dream Songs, both of which he describes as poetic autobiographies that feel like the breath of life. Almost all the novels he rereads are by Henry James, his preferred fiction writer, whose later work grows more important to him each year.
Books he cannot reread
Motion cannot reread JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, which he loved in his late teens, even reading it at breakfast. Despite appreciating its warnings about tyrannical power, he no longer has appetite for that kind of narrative.
Late discoveries
Motion has discovered many books late in life, especially novels, as he has always preferred poetry. Among nonfiction, he values Galen Strawson's Things That Bother Me, which changed how he thinks about living in time.
Current reading
Motion reads multiple books simultaneously. This week, he is reading The Collected Poems of George Oppen and Dostoevsky's The Idiot, a combination he finds more enjoyable than it sounds.
Comfort reading
Motion prefers discomfort to comfort in reading, seeking books that provoke him. However, everything by Elizabeth Bishop—prose, poems, and letters—offers both comfort and provocation, and much more.
Gravity Archives by Andrew Motion is published by Faber. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
