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James Fenton

James Fenton

James Fenton is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry and was the original librettist who structured the book of the stage version of Les Miserables. He discovered his passion for poetry whilst a pupil at Repton. There, he became interested in the work of W H Auden, who remains one of the key influences on his work. He says:

The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.