I have spent some time this summer in Edinburgh, Scotland, the land of my fathers – well, grandfathers – and of some of the most welcoming people one could wish to meet. My hotel was a staging stop for touring coach-parties, members of which I thoroughly enjoyed meeting at breakfast before they set off again on another day’s hard travel and excitement. As a result, copies of “Late Starter” will by now be being read in Oregon, Connecticut and Ohio, as well as in its home state of Indiana.

I do not know these States at first hand, but that has never been a major frustration for a ready, imaginative conversationalist who is prepared to listen to strangers’ accounts of the places in which they have their homes.

Holidays are wonderful opportunities for poets to pause, relax, and allow new experiences to inspire them. Now back in my own home here in England, I intend to take full advantage of my holiday and of the dear people I met. I hope that you have had a wonderfully refreshing summer, and, if you write too, that your imagination is primed to make the most of what you have enjoyed.