Michael George Laskey (born 15 August 1944) is an English poet and editor.

Life

Born in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. Laskey was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he read English. After

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, Laskey worked for ten years as a teacher in secondary schools and further education in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and England. Poetry International Profile
Laskey has published four poetry collections, including ''New & Selected Poems'' (2008), and three pamphlets. In 1999 Laskey was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize for his collection ''The Tightrope Wedding''. In 1989, Laskey founded the international

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...

Poetry Festival and served as its director for ten years. He subsequently became chairman of The Poetry Trust (the organisation that runs the Festival), 2003–2008. In 1991, with Roy Blackman he founded the poetry magazine '' Smiths Knoll'', and since 2002 has edited it (with Joanna Cutts). In 2005 he was awarded an Arts Council International Writing Fellowship at the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Laskey now works as a freelance writer, running workshops and teaching creative writing for many organisations. including the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, the Arvon Foundation, the Open College of the Arts, and in schools. Laskey is married to a general practitioner, and they have three sons, including the actor Jack Laskey. Since 1978, they have lived in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

Publications

* ''Cloves of Garlic'' (1988) (which won the ''Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition'') * ''Thinking of Happiness'' (Peterloo, 1991) ( Poetry Book Society Recommendation) * ''The Tightrope Wedding'' (Smith/Doorstop, 1999) (Poetry Book Society Recommendation and shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize) * ''In the Fruit Cage'' (1997) * ''Permission to Breathe'' (Smith/Doorstop, 2004) * ''Living by the Sea'' (Smith/Doorstop, 2007) * ''The Man Alone: New & Selected Poems'' (Smith/Doorstop, 2008)

As Editor

* ''The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Anthology 1989–1998'' (ed.) (Aldeburgh Poetry Trust, 1999) *''The Difference'' by Anthony Wilson (Aldeburgh Poetry Trust, 1999) *''The Watermen'' by Roy Blackman (Smiths Knoll, 2003) *''A Small Sun'' by Mourid Barghouti (Aldeburgh Poetry Trust, 2003) *''Irresistible to Women'' by Dean Parkin (Garlic Press, 2003) *''Football on Waste Ground'' by Richard Kemp (Smiths Knoll, 2006) *''The Devil's Cut'' by Miranda Burton (Smiths Knoll, 2007) *''Hooks Working Loose'' by Margaret Easton (Garlic Press, 2007) *''Just Our Luck'' by Dean Parkin (Garlic Press, 2008)

External links

Michael Laskey
- official site
Profile and poems, written and audio at the Poetry Archive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laskey, Michael 1944 births Living people People from Lichfield Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the University of East Anglia People educated at Gresham's School English male poets Writers from Staffordshire