Andrew Motion is the current "
Poet Laureate" of the
United Kingdom.
He was born in London on the 26th October 1952. He claims that "My background is very unbookish indeed" and "there were books at home but no one read them". Despite this background he went on to read English at Oxford, one of the best universities in England. He then taught English at the University of Hull from 1976 to 1981. There he met Philip Larkin, a famous british poet.
He has written award-winning biographies, as well as books of poetry and novels:
Poetry collections
The Pleasure Steamers (1977)
Independence (1981)
Secret Narratives (1983)
Dangerous Play: Poems 1974-1984 (1984)
Natural Causes (1987)
The Price of Everything (1994)
Salt Water (1997)
Selected Poems 1976-1997 (1998)
Public Property (2002)
Biographies
The Lamberts: George, Constant and Kit (1986)
Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life (1993)
Keats : A biography (1997)
Wainewright the Poisoner (2000)
Novels
The Pale Companion (1989)
Famous for the Creatures (1991)
The Invention of Dr Cake (2003)
He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1999, following Ted Hughes, amidst controversy as many thought Carol Ann Duffy had been deprived of a position rightfully hers (see the Carol Ann Duffy node for information about this). Since his appointment he has written poems about events such as the Paddington Rail Crash as well as poetry that it is his duty to do, such as about the Queen Mother's death.