Carol Ann Duffy Quotes

A collection of quotes by Carol Ann Duffy.

Carol Ann Duffy is a renowned contemporary British poet and playwright. Born on December 23, 1955, in Glasgow, Scotland, she eventually settled in England. Duffy gained widespread recognition for her distinctive and often subversive style, addressing themes of gender, power, and identity in her work.

She received her early education in Staffordshire, England, and went on to study philosophy at the University of Liverpool. Duffy then pursued a Master's degree in philosophy from the University of Warwick. In 1983, she published her first poetry collection, titled "Standing Female Nude," which was critically acclaimed for its raw and unapologetic exploration of the female experience.

Duffy's subsequent works, such as "Selling Manhattan" (1987), "The World's Wife" (1999), and "The Bees" (2011), continued to challenge traditional narratives and stereotypes. In 2009, she made history as the first female and openly gay Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, a highly prestigious position she held until 2019.

Throughout her career, Duffy won numerous awards, including the Whitbread Poetry Award, the T. S. Eliot Prize, and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Her poems are known for their accessibility, wit, and poignant social commentary, making her a beloved figure in contemporary literature.

Today, Carol Ann Duffy's works are widely anthologized and taught in schools around the world, solidifying her place as one of the most influential and admired poets of her generation.

It's always good when women win things in fiction because it

It's always good when women win things in fiction because it tends to be more male-dominated, unlike poetry, which is more equal.

Carol Ann Duffy

Like the sand and the oyster, it's a creative irritant. In e

Like the sand and the oyster, it's a creative irritant. In each poem, I'm trying to reveal a truth, so it can't have a fictional beginning.

Carol Ann Duffy

I think poetry can help children deal with the other subject

I think poetry can help children deal with the other subjects on the curriculum by enabling them to see a subject in a new way.

Carol Ann Duffy

I still read Donne, particularly his love poems.

I still read Donne, particularly his love poems.

Carol Ann Duffy

I grew up in a bookless house - my parents didn't read poetr

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.

Carol Ann Duffy

Poetry and prayer are very similar.

Poetry and prayer are very similar.

Carol Ann Duffy

If I felt, in the event of a royal wedding, inspired to writ

If I felt, in the event of a royal wedding, inspired to write about people coming together in marriage or civil partnership, I would just be grateful to have an idea for the poem. And if I didn't, I'd ignore it.

Carol Ann Duffy

Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the

Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the opposite could be true. It could make something happen.

Carol Ann Duffy

The moment of inspiration can come from memory, or language,

The moment of inspiration can come from memory, or language, or the imagination, or experience - anything that makes an impression forcibly enough for language to form.

Carol Ann Duffy

You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in w

You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what's in your heart.

Carol Ann Duffy

I have piles of poetry books in the bathroom, on the stairs,

I have piles of poetry books in the bathroom, on the stairs, everywhere. The only way to write poetry is to read it.

Carol Ann Duffy

Christmas is taken very seriously in this household. I belie

Christmas is taken very seriously in this household. I believe in Father Christmas, and there's no way I'd do anything to undermine that belief.

Carol Ann Duffy