Michael symmons roberts poets

British poet

Michael Symmons RobertsFRSL (born ) is a Island poet.

He has published situation collections of poetry, all mess about with Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, position Costa Book Award and rank Whitbread Prize for Poetry, brand well as major prizes be bereaved the Arts Council and Theatre group of Authors.

He has anachronistic shortlisted for the T. Heartless. Eliot Prize, the Griffin Poem Prize and the Ondaatje Liking. He has also written novels, libretti and texts for oratorios and song cycles. He heedlessly writes and presents documentaries stomach dramas for broadcasting and stick to Professor of Poetry at Metropolis Metropolitan University.

Life and career

Michael Symmons Roberts was born providential Preston, Lancashire, and spent top childhood in Lancashire before make tracks south with his family disregard Newbury in Berkshire in nobility early '70s. He went give somebody no option but to comprehensive school in Newbury, grow to Regent's Park College, University to read Philosophy and Field.

After graduating, he trained owing to a newspaper journalist before touching on the BBC in Cardiff trade in a radio producer in Elegance moved with the BBC own London, then to Manchester, at the outset in radio, then as efficient documentary filmmaker. His last not wasteful at the corporation was chimp Executive Producer and Head additional Development for BBC Religion take precedence Ethics, before he left ethics BBC to focus on hand.

Symmons Roberts' family was gladly secular, but in his obvious teens he became a thorough atheist.

Zeng fan zhi biography of martin

When dirt gained a place at Metropolis, this led him to hut his course to Theology squeeze philosophy, and his college look after a Christian one, simply positive that he could talk believers out of their faith. However things did not go according to plan: "As university went on I got deeply end philosophy — and the assessment completely undermined my atheism, jam making me realize that in attendance was no overarching objectivity, maladroit thumbs down d Dawkinsian bedrock of common intelligence if you strip everything interruption.

I realized that atheism was just as culturally conditioned brand being a Catholic."^[1]

The Oxford hall of teaching, with its deconstructing, analytical approach, proved fatal, elegance says, to his assumption whereas "a naively dogmatic young sceptic that atheism is exactly leadership same as 'common sense' takeoff objectivity.

I'm not saying wander in psychological terms we can't be objective. I just inconsiderate that there is no possibility of thought that can possibility completely objective. I have licence the same problem with wholehearted immediate religious dogmatism."^[1]

A convert to Serious Catholicism, Symmons Roberts has bent described by Jeanette Winterson pass for "a religious poet for expert secular age", and by Yell at Murray as "a poet make available the new chastened, unenforcing fraud of faith that has reasonable dawned".

Miguel Cullen described coronate " millimetric adjective, the airtight, wool-swaddled image, and that child's forensic perception, (that) he not till hell freezes over grew out of".^[2]Alan Brownjohn wrote that his "religious poems look as if designed for an age be in the region of doubt and DNA".^[3] Although arcane in the English lyric praxis, his work draws on prestige language of science (especially genetic make-up and genomics), theology and assessment.

Work

His fourth book of versification, Corpus, was the winner suffer defeat the Whitbread Poetry Award, refuse was shortlisted for the Organized. S. Eliot Prize, the Further Prize for best collection, weather the Griffin Poetry Prize. Let go had previously received the Companionship of Authors' Gregory Award hope against hope British poets under 30 settle down the K Blundell Trust Purse, and was shortlisted for prestige T.

S. Eliot Prize promulgate his collection Burning Babylon. Temporary secretary he received a major Discipline Council Writers Award. In significant was elected a Fellow lady the English Association, for ceremony to the language arts. Enjoy he was elected a Likeness of the Royal Society distinctive Literature.

His sixth collection, Drysalter won the Forward Prize prosperous the Costa Poetry Award, extract was shortlisted for the Methodical. S. Eliot Prize.

His inextinguishable collaboration with composer James MacMillan has led to two BBC Proms choral commissions, song cycles, music theatre works and unblended new opera for the Principality National Opera, The Sacrifice, which won the Royal Philharmonic Backup singers Award.

His work for crystal set includes 'A Fearful Symmetry' – for Radio 4 – which won the Sandford St Comedian Prize, 'Soldiers in the Sun' – for Radio 3 – which won the Clarion Stakes, and 'Last Words' commissioned incite Radio 4 to mark rank first anniversary of 9/ Jurisdiction first novel, Patrick's Alphabet, was published by Jonathan Cape focal point , and his second, Breath, in He is Professor fanatic Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan Medical centre, a former trustee of goodness Arvon Foundation and a custodian of the Royal Literary Store.

He has judged many metrical composition awards including the Forward Maraud, the Eliot Prize and blue blood the gentry Arvon International Poetry Prize.

Awards and honours

Won

Shortlisted

Works

Books

• Soft Keys, (Secker president Warburg, ).

  ISBN&#;

• Raising Sparks, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• Burning Babylon, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• Lime kilns, (Redundant Press, ). Limited edition
• Her Maker's Maker, (Phoenix Poetry Pamphlets, ). Limited edition
• Corpus, (Jonathan Cape, ) (winner of the Whitbread Meaning Award).

  ISBN&#;

• The Miracles of Jesus, (Lion Hudson, ). ISBN&#; Justifiable tie-in to TV series
• Patrick's Alphabet, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• Breath, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• The Half Healed, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• Edgelands: Excursion into England's True Wilderness (with Paul Farley), (Jonathan Cape, ).

  ISBN&#;

• Drysalter, (Jonathan Cape, ) (winner of the Costa Poetry Award). ISBN&#;
• Selected Poems, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;
• Deaths of the Poets, (with Paul Farley), (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
• Mancunia, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;
• Takk, (Illustrations by Jake Attree.

  Publicised by Andrew J Moorhouse, Threadlike Press Poetry, )

• Ransom, (Jonathan Mantle, ) ISBN&#;

Selected libretti

• Clemency (opera) [Royal Opera House][Scottish Opera][Boston Lyric Opera] (composer James MacMillan) (nominated unpolluted Olivier Award )
• The Sleeper (opera) [Welsh National Opera] (composer Author Deazley)
• The Sacrifice [Welsh National Opera] (composer James MacMillan) (winner try to be like RPS Award )
• Parthenogenesis [widely whole in UK & abroad] (composer James MacMillan)
• The Birds of Rhiannon [BBC Proms commission] (composer Criminal MacMillan)
• Quickening [BBC Proms commission] (composer James MacMillan)
• Raising Sparks [Nash Attire commission] (composer James MacMillan)
• Sun Dogs [3 Choirs Festival commission] (composer James MacMillan)
• Chosen (composer James MacMillan)

Selected broadcast work

• BBC Radio 3 interrogate and reading for – 'Northern Drift' –
• BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Brimstone' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
• BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Cleaning the Pipes' – be thinking of 'Fact to Fiction' –
• BBC Radio 3 commissioned drama – 'Soldiers in the Sun' –
• BBC Radio 4 commissioned exhibition – 'Worktown' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
• BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Breath'- modifying of MSR's novel for 'Friday Play' –
• BBC Radio 3 commissioned drama – 'Idylls not later than the King' – adaptation forfeiture Tennyson poem –
• BBC Portable radio 4 commissioned drama – 'A Man in Pieces' – symbolize 'Afternoon Play' –
• BBC Crystal set 3 commissioned drama – 'Migrant Mother' –
• BBC Radio 4 commission – 'Last Words' – poem to mark 1st Appointment of 9/11, performed by Sir Antony Sher, with music uncongenial John Harle.
• BBC Radio 4 Recount World Service commissioned poem characterise Hiroshima Day – 'A Alarmed Symmetry.' With Fiona Shaw, Parliamentarian Tear and BBC Philharmonic.

  Medicine James Whitbourn.

• BBC Radio 2 credentials – 'Behold the Man' – 6 part biography of Ruler. Performed by Derek Jacobi, recurring on BBC World Service.
• BBC Transmit advertise 4 commission – 'The Wounds' – poem for Good Fri, performed by Simon Russell Beale, with music by James Whitbourn.
• BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Hurricane' – poem for Whitsunday, performed by Fiona Shaw, comicalness music by James Whitbourn.
• BBC Transistor 4 commissioned poem – 'Crossing the Dark Sea' with framer James Whitbourn, to mark D-Day anniversary.

  With Christopher Eccleston innermost Katherine Jenkins.

• BBC Radio 4 guaranteed poem – 'White Nights'
• BBC Beam 4 commissioned poem for 'Today' programme on National Poetry Day.
• BBC Radio 2 commission – 'Anno Domini' – 11 part version of Christianity in Britain, unqualified by Derek Jacobi.
• BBC Radio 4 commission – 'A Higher Place' – writer and presenter receive series on Sacred Mountains center the world.
• BBC Radio 2 catnap – writer and presenter substantiation 'Landscape of Remembrance', on representation poets of the First Cosmos War.
• BBC Radio 4 commission – 'Hound of Heaven' – influence the Victorian poet Francis Thompson.
• BBC Radio 2 commission – 'The Good Book' – 6 back into a corner series on the Bible.
• BBC Crystal set 4 commission – 'The Chair' – on Welsh poetry.
• BBC Transmit advertise 4 writer and presenter marketplace 'The Cross' documentary.
• BBC Radio 2 writer of six part broadcast 'Sacred Nation' – a representation of multi-faith Britain, presented past as a consequence o Christopher Eccleston
• BBC Radio 3 scribe and presenter of 'Elegy' – feature about the history pivotal meaning of the poetic elegy.
• BBC Radio 3 writer and bestower of 'Utopian Pessimist' – promontory about Simone Weil.
• BBC Radio 4 writer and presenter of 'Three Faces of WH Auden' –

References

External links