Carol Ann Duffy

1. Carol Ann Duffy Olivia Spivey, Taylor Colton, Frankie Edmondson, Victor Valcarcel

2. Early Life • Born: • December 23, 1955 (age 58) • Family: • She was the oldest of 5 siblings. • She was the first child of Frank Duffy, an electrical fitter, and Mary Black. The couple went on to have another four children - all boys. Since Duffy spent years from one to six in the Gorbals, a very poor part of Glasgow she wasn't exposed to much poetry. The only poetry she would hear was her mother signing lullabies and telling bed time stories. This is where her interest in writing and reading begun.  

3. Environment • She was born in Glasgow, Scottland. The family moved to England when Duffy was six years old. • Schools she attended • Saint Austin’s RC Primary School • Joseph’s Convent School • Stafford Girl’s High School • Sheattended was the University of Liverpool. • The environment that Duffy was in at school helped her career in writing grow and become who she is today. It was her teachers that noticed Duffy had a special talent when it came to writing poetry. When she was 12 she had already begun working and when she turned 16 had her work published and began attending University to study philosophy and wrote professionally ever since .

4. Personal Life • She fell in love with Adrian Henri, a fellow poet twice her age, when she was 16, and lived with him until 1982. Her next relationship was with another poet, Jackie Kay. They lived together for 10 years during which time, Carol Ann had her only daughter Ella, now 16, whose biological father is poet Peter Benson. The life behind closed doors is where many writers and poets get there passionate writing done. To be able to see a little about what Carol Ann Duffy had going on in her life during the writing's of her poems we can sometimes see where her story comes from or what she was feeling at that specific time.

5. Feminism • Duffy is well-known for having a strong feminist edge to her poetry • Specifically, one of her collections, Standing Female Nude, emphasizes her feministic views. The first poem of the collection includes an inner monologue comprising a female model’s response to the male artist who is painting her image in a Cubist style. Although at first the conversation seems to indicate the model’s acceptance of conventional attitudes about beauty in art—and, by extension, what an ideal woman should be—as the poem progresses Duffy deconstructs these traditional beliefs. • In Conclusion, the poet expresses that “the model cannot be contained by the visual art that would regulate her,” explained DiMarco. “And here the way the poem ends with the model’s final comment on the painting ‘It does not look like me’—is especially instructive. On the one hand, her response suggests that she is naive and does not understand the nature of Cubist art. On the other hand, however, the comment suggests her own variableness, and challenges traditionalist notions that the naked model can, indeed, be transmogrified into the male artist’s representation of her in the nude form. To the model, the painting does not represent either what she understands herself to be or her lifestyle.”

6. Homosexuality • Duffy is said to have knew she was a lesbian since her schooling at St. Josephs Convent School, but did not properly ‘come out’ till she her early 40’s • Due to this, her early love poems gave no indication of her homosexuality; the object of her love is not specified, nor is the gender. Not until her 1993 collection, when she was 38, does she begin to write about homosexual love. • An Economist reviewer described her verses as typically “spoken in the voices of the urban disaffected, people on the margins of society who harbour resentments and grudges against the world.” • This specific tone used in her poems could be due to the fact that she had to conceal her homosexuality for almost 40 years, which would typically arise indignation and irritation in any person.

7. Inspirations (Olivia) • Carol Ann Duffy was encouraged at age ten, to write poetry by an inspirational teacher at a Convent school • Some of her more famous poems sprung from her former relationship with the poet Jackie Kay • Many of her poems express her feelings towards her late mother • Ex. The Tear Thief (from her children’s poetry collection) • Her Daughter, Ella, is also a source of her inspiration in her recent poetry Duffy with Daughter Ella Jackie Kay

8. Awards (Olivia) • Whoever She Was (1983) • 1983 National Poetry Competition 1st prize • Standing Female Nude (1985) • 1986 Scottish Arts Council Book Award • Selling Manhattan (1987) • 1988 Somerset Maugham Award • The Other Country (1990) • 1990: Scottish Arts Council Book Award • Mean Time (1993) • 1993 Whitbread Awards • 1993 Scottish Arts Council Book Award • 1993 Forward Prize • Rapture (2005) • 2005 T S Eliot Prize • The Bees (2011) • 2011 Costa Book Awards (Poetry), winner, • United Kingdom's first woman Poet Laureate (a poet government appointed by a, who is often expected to compose poems for special events and occasions) in 2009 • She has gone on to publish many books for adults and children and is also an acclaimed playwright and editor. 

9. Poetry Style • Carol Ann Duffy has a very unique style of poetry, she openly expresses her preference for simple words used in an intricate style, " I'm not interested, as a poet, in words like 'plash'-- Seamus Heaney words, interesting words. I like the use of simple words in complicated ways." • Duffy bases her poetry on everyday events, different aspects of life such as childhood, adolesense, adult hood and fictional lives of herself and others. Through the use of a flood of possesion, idioms and turns of phrase she captivates almost any reader. • Due to her style of writing her poems are easily accessible to anyone and are therefore popular among young adults.

10. Significance of Work • Duffy's work is has marked a new era in poetry, her intimate understanding and depiction of human emotions such as love set her work aside from all others. • She has become a symbol of hope for all homosexual women in the world by becoming Britain's first female poet laureate.  • She is also a beacon of empowerment for females, her depiction of the human figure is very current, making her popular among schools.

11. Importance of Knowledge (Olivia) • Poetry can be understood very differently among those who read it. While different perspectives open our minds and allow us to formulate a three dimensional view, it can be beneficial to the reader to focus on the authors intention for this specific poem. • The purpose of the poetry that the poet wrote can be uncovered with knowledge into the poet’s personal life and experiences. • Poetry can express some of the inner most thoughts and feelings of a poet, understanding the environment of the poet will assist in comprehending his or her choices in writing. • All poetry begins with the poet. Obtaining background knowledge while studying poetry is a effective way to be begin analysis.

12. References • http://www.stylist.co.uk/people/interviews-and-profiles/interview-carol-ann-duffy#image-rotator-1 • http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/poets/carol_ann_duffy.shtml • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/carol-ann-duffy • http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=11468