Summary: It's been 15 years since Hugo Williams won the TS Eliot Prize for Billy's Rain, a collection that captured a certain amount of journalistic interest for its unvarnished depiction of an affair. His latest collection, I Knew The Bride, has also been nominated for the TS Eliot Prize (as well as the Forward), although it's subject matter is a little darker, taking in the death of his sister and his own kidney failure, which requires him to spend a significant amount of time every week on dialysis. We were lucky to spend time with the poet when he was up for the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August. He talks about the influence of popular music on his work, mortality, and what Hardy was doing with Shelley's heart.
