“Titles are so important yet we often add a throwaway title to our poems. You have got to bear in mind that titles are a way in to a poem. With a great title, we get to the bottom, and we think, ‘Oh! I understand the title now.’

And, when a title is just so magical, a judge can't just flick past it. You have got to bear in mind that when a submission window closes, a judge or a magazine editor could have to run through possibly a thousand poems, and so you’ve just got to grab their attention.

That’s the magic of some great poems.”

Rules & Submissions for ‘The Ways of Water’ poetry competition here.