Beginner’s Pluck: Stephen Murray

STEPHEN MURRAY started writing poetry at eight years of age. “A teacher, Mr Spark, told us to write a poem based on A Christmas Carol by Dickens. I wrote Marley’s Ghost. Mr Spark said it was brilliant. After that he encouraged me.”

It’s been difficult for Stephen to survive as a poet. So this summer he’s cycling 8,000 miles around the US, reading from his first collection. “I have readings all over the place; including in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. By reading I’m hoping to persuade the Americans to buy my books. I’m attempting the impossible in a land where nothing is impossible,” he says.

Who is Stephen Murray?