Philip Pullman talks about the Off by Heart competition in The Times. Showing as part of the BBC’s Poetry Season, the competition was a BBC Two project to coax children to dip their toe in poetry. “Not every child is a sporting hero or the most popular person in class,” said Pullman. “I’m all in favour of giving children an opportunity to shine in other areas, like poetry recital. … The standard was extraordinarily high.” Thanks to Skye.