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Carol Ann Duffy
Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She was the first female poet laureate, the first Scottish-born poet and the first openly lesbian poet to hold the Poet Laureate position. Her collections include ''Standing Female Nude'' (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Book Award; ''Selling Manhattan'' (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; ''Mean Time'' (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and ''Rapture'' (2005), which won the T. S. Eliot Prize. Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in accessible language. Early life Carol Ann Duffy was born into a Roman Catholic family in the Gorbals, considered a poor part of Glasgow. She was the daughter of Mary (née Black) and Frank Duffy, an electrical fitter. Her mother's parents were Irish, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dame
''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also use the title ''Dame''. A woman appointed to the grades of Dame Commander or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), Order of Saint John, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of the Bath, the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Royal Victorian Order, or the Order of the British Empire becomes a dame. A Central European order in which female members receive the rank of Dame is the Order of St. George (Habsburg-Lorraine), Order of Saint George. Since there is no female equivalent to a Knight Bachelor, women are always appointed to an Order (distinction), order of chivalry. Women who are appointed to the Order of the Garter or the Order of the Thistle are gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Electric
The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes. It initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers, locomotives and railway electric traction, traction equipment, diesel engine, diesel motors and steam turbines. Its products were later expanded to include consumer electronics, nuclear reactors, guided missiles, military aircraft and mainframe computers. Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering; the English Electric Canberra, Canberra and the English Electric Lightning, Lightning. In 1960, English Electric Aircraft (40%) merged with Vickers Armstrongs, Vickers (40%) and Bristol Aeroplane Company, Bristol (20%) to form British Aircraft Corporation. In 1968 English Electric's operations were merged with General Electric Company#Further expansion (1961–83), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The South Bank Show
''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, and presented by former BBC arts broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience. In 2023, the series came to an end when it was announced that Bragg would be leaving the series after 45 years. History ITV (1978–2010) The programme was a replacement for '' Aquarius'', the arts series which had been running since 1970. Presenter Melvyn Bragg was already well known for his arts broadcasting on BBC television, notably ''Monitor'' and BBC Two's ''The Lively Arts''. It first aired on 14 January 1978, covering many subjects, including Germaine Greer, Gerald Scarfe and Paul McCartney. It is the longest continuously running arts programme on UK television. From the beginning the series' intent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society Of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House. The RSL is an independent charity and relies on the support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work. History The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", and its first president was Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury). From the beginning of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Kay
Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Somerset Maugham Award in 1994, the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1998 and the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award in 2011. From 2016 to 2021, Jackie Kay was the Makar (National Poet for Scotland), Makar, the poet laureate of Scotland. She was Chancellor (education), Chancellor of the University of Salford between 2015 and 2022. Early life and education Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1961, to a Scottish mother and a Nigerians, Nigerian father. She was adoption, adopted as a baby by a white Scottish couple, Helen and John Kay, and grew up in Bishopbriggs, a suburb of Glasgow. They adopted Jackie in 1961, having already adopted her brother, Maxwell, about two years earlier. Jac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death. In 2008, ''The Times'' ranked Hughes fourth on its list of "The 50 greatest British literature, British writers since 1945". He married fellow poet Sylvia Plath, an American, in 1956. They lived together in the United States and then in England, in what was known to be a tumultuous relationship. They had two children before separating in 1962. Plath ended her own life in 1963. Biography Early life Hughes was born at 1 Aspinall Street, in Mytholmroyd in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to William Henry (1894–1981) and Edith (née Farrar) Hughes (1898–1969). He was raised among the local farms of the Calderdale, Calder Valley and o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambit (magazine)
''Ambit'' was a quarterly literary periodical published in the United Kingdom. The magazine was founded in 1959 by Martin Bax, a London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ... novelist and consultant paediatrician. Uniting art, fiction, poetry and reviews, and distributed internationally, the magazine appeared quarterly until going on indefinite hiatus in April 2023. Notable ''Ambit'' contributors have included J. G. Ballard, Edwin Brock, Eduardo Paolozzi, Ralph Steadman, Lionel Kearns, Stevie Smith, Henry Graham, Peter Porter, Carol Ann Duffy, Fleur Adcock, Carole Satyamurti, Julia Casterton, Peter Blake, and David Hockney, to name but a few. Despite the wealth of recognisable names, ''Ambit'' also featured the work of new, unpublished writers. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Poetry Competition
The National Poetry Competition is an annual poetry prize established in 1978 in the United Kingdom. It is run by UK-based The Poetry Society and accepts entries from all over the world, with over 10,000 poems being submitted to the competition each year. Winning has been an important milestone in the careers of many well-known poets. Carol Ann Duffy, the UK Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019, won in 1983 with "Whoever She Was". Looking back, in 2007 she commented: "in those days, one was still called a 'poetess' – so it meant a lot, as a young woman poet, to begin to try to change that". Christopher James, the 2008 winner, commented "if there is an unspoken Grand Slam circuit for poetry prizes, then the National Poetry Competition is definitely Wimbledon – it's the one everyone dreams of winning". Other prestigious names to have won the competition include Ruth Padel, Jo Shapcott, Sinéad Morrissey, Ian Duhig, Colette Bryce and the poet and novelist Helen Dunmore. Melanie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of whom went on to achieve national and international reputations. Architectural changes have been made to the building over the years, the latest being in 1968 when a modern-style extension was added to the north of the theatre. In 1999 a trust was formed, joining the management of the Playhouse with that of the Everyman Theatre. History The present theatre on the site was designed by Edward Davies, and opened in 1866. It replaced an earlier theatre called the Star Concert Hall. The present theatre was originally named the Star Music Hall. In 1895 its name was changed to the Star Theatre of Varieties. The theatre was improved in 1898 by Harry Percival with a new auditorium and foyer, and electricity was installed. In 1911 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western philosophy, Western, Islamic philosophy, Arabic–Persian, Indian philosophy, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the Spirituality, spiritual problem of how to reach Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlighten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrian Henri
Adrian Henri (10 April 1932 – 20 December 2000) was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group the Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology '' The Mersey Sound'', along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough. The trio of Liverpool poets came to prominence in that city's Merseybeat ''zeitgeist'' of the 1960s and 1970s. He was described by Edward Lucie-Smith in '' British Poetry since 1945'' as the "theoretician" of the three. His characterisation of popular culture in verse helped to widen the audience for poetry among 1960s British youth. He was influenced by the French Symbolist school of poetry and surrealist art. Life and career Adrian Henri's grandfather was a seaman from Mauritius who settled in Birkenhead, Cheshire, where Henri was born. In 1938, at the age of six, he moved to Rhyl.. He studied art at King's College (now Newcastle University) and for a short time taught art at Preston Catholic College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
