The Queen has been pleased to approve that Professor Carol Ann Duffy CBE be appointed Poet Laureate in Ordinary to Her Majesty in succession to Professor Andrew Motion for a term of ten years.
Biographical notes
Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow in 1955. Her family moved to England when she was 5 and she grew up in Stafford with her four brothers. In 1977 she received an Honours Degree in Philosophy from the University of Liverpool and since that time she has devoted herself to writing poetry for both adults and children. She has also worked occasionally in Theatre, notably with Tim Supple in their adaptations of Grimms’ Tales. Since the birth of her daughter, Ella, in 1995, Carol Ann has written several illustrated fairy tales for children and her writing for children is just as important to her as her adult poetry. Carol Ann lives in Manchester, where she is Creative Director of The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University, a post she hugely enjoys.
Carol Ann Duffy has received numerous awards for her work, among them The Somerset Maugham Award, The Dylan Thomas Award, an Eric Gregory Award, A Cholmondely Award, The Whitbread Prize for Poetry, The Forward Prize, The Signal Award for Children’s Poetry, and The T.S. Eliot Prize. She has received an OBE and a CBE for services to Poetry and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
The Prime Minister said:
“I’d like to congratulate Carol Ann Duffy on her appointment as the first Poet Laureate of the 21st century and, of course, as the first woman to hold the post. Poetry as an art form has inspired, excited and comforted people of all ages and backgrounds for so many centuries and Carol Ann follows in a tradition set by some of the most distinguished writers in the English language. She is a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly and I wish her well for her ten year term.”
Notes for Editors
The appointment of Poet Laureate carries an honorarium of around £5,750 per annum which is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Poet Laureate is a Member of Her Majesty’s Household.
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