I love it when poetry comes alive. That is not to say that it doesn’t come alive when I read a good poem. But when it can be discussed, when views are exchanged – that’s when I feel poetry really leaping off the page. I’ve been reading and writing poetry for the past four years, but I felt it really come alive when I attended the opening rounds of Cheltenham Literature Festival’s Poetry Slam last October. For anyone who thinks they dislike poetry, I urge you to go to a poetry slam. If you tell me afterwards that you weren’t captivated, I’ll refund the price of your ticket myself. In an attempt to stay up to date with contemporary poetry, I’ve had a subscription with Poetry Review since the beginning of the year. Being relatively new to the poetry scene, I never expect to know many names. However, that never stops me scanning its contents page in the hope that I recognise one or two more names than I did last time around. ...