I grew up in a bookless house - my parents didn't read poetry, so if I hadn't had the chance to experience it at school I'd never have experienced it. But I loved English, and I was very lucky in that I had inspirational English teachers, Miss Scriven and Mr. Walker, and they liked us to learn poems by heart, which I found I loved doing.

"He gave me confidence" Carol Ann Duffy said "he was great. Her third "The Twelve Days of Christmas 2009" addresses current events such as species extinction the climate change conference in Copenhagen the banking crisis and the war in Afghanistan. Poet laureate
In her first poem as poet laureate Duffy tackled the scandal over British MPs expenses in the format of a sonnet.

She is the first woman the first Scot and the first openly LGBT person to hold the position. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009.