This month's featured texts explore the idea of altered states: the surprises that unexpectedly can change entire lives, the endless new possibilities available through determination and desire, the profound effect of nature on humanity and the possibilities inherent in unconsciousness. Many writers have explored how altered states can affect the way we lead our lives, and in this focus we look at the prose and poetry of three writers who have brought their own skill and ingenuity to a great literary tradition. Roy Robins, Stephen Knight and David Morley are all established writers with great reputations as writers of diversity and energy, who bring their individual talents to the idea of an altered state.

Stephen Knight's engaging poem, 'The Edge of Sleep', is a dreamy piece of writing which beautifully captures the sentiments involved in changes of nature and emotions. Haunting, reverent and moody, Knight's poem takes us on a dislocating journey through change and our attempts to understand puzzling situations.

'Whitethroat', David Morley's quick-witted poem on the nature of whiteness, explores the way in which transformation can in some ways be ordinary but in others appear miraculous and magical. This is an ambiguous and playful poem, with hints of Yeats's classic poem 'Sailing to Byzantium'.

'The Caretaker', Roy Robins's surprising and inventive short story, explores the impact of a traumatic childhood event upon the story's narrator. It is a haunting and disturbing tale of how an adult mind attempts to deal with something experienced as a child. The altered states in this story feature drunkenness, illness, dreaming, memory and different perspectives on one particular event.

Stephen Knight

Stephen Knight was born in Swansea in 1960. He has published a novel, Mr Schnitzel, and four collections of poetry: 'Flowering Limbs', 'The Sandfields Baudelaire', 'Dream City Cinema', and, for younger readers, 'Sardines and Other Poems'. He reviews poetry and fiction for The Independent on Sunday and the TLS.

Photograph: Stephen Knight

David Morley

David Morley originally studied and worked within science. He develops and teaches new practices in scientific as well as creative writing at the University of Warwick, where he is Director of the Warwick Writing Programme. His next collection of poems 'The Invisible Kings' is the second section of a cycle that began with Scientific Papers, both from Carcanet. He reviews poetry for The Guardian.

Photograph: John Reeves

Roy Robins

Roy Robins read English Literature at the University of Cape Town, receiving a masters degree in 2004, and is a part-time lecturer in its English and History Departments. One of 12 African writers selected to participate in the 2003 Caine Prize African Writers' Workshop, his short stories and poetry have appeared in anthologies and he is currently completing a novel. He has reviewed books for the New Statesman and The Observer.

Illustration © Maurizio Marmorato