Michael George Laskey (born 15 August 1944) is an English poet and editor.
Life
Born in
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
. Laskey was educated at
Gresham's School
Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...
and
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, where he read English. After
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, Laskey worked for ten years as a teacher in secondary schools and further education in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and England.
[Poetry International Profile](_blank)
Laskey has published four poetry collections, including ''New & Selected Poems'' (2008), and three pamphlets.
In 1989, Laskey founded the international
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...
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
''Smiths Knoll'' was a poetry periodical, published in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Roy Blackman and Michael Laskey in 1991 and named after a former lightvessel station off the Norfolk coast, near Haisborough Sands.
It was edited by Roy ...
'', and since 2002 has edited it (with Joanna Cutts). In 2005 he was awarded an Arts Council International Writing Fellowship at the
Banff Centre in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
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 research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, the
Arvon Foundation, the
Open College of the Arts
The Open College of the Arts (OCA) is an open learning arts college, with a Head Office in Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1987 by Michael Young, it is a registered charity and the distance learning partner of the University ...
, 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 of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
.
Publications
* ''Cloves of Garlic'' (1988) (which won the ''Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition'')
* ''Thinking of Happiness'' (Peterloo, 1991) (
Poetry Book Society Recommendation
The Poetry Book Society (PBS) was founded in 1953 by T. S. Eliot and friends, including Sir Basil Blackwell, "to propagate the art of poetry". Eric Walter White was secretary from December 1953 until 1971, and was subsequently the society's chairm ...
)
* ''The Tightrope Wedding'' (Smith/Doorstop, 1999) (Poetry Book Society Recommendation and shortlisted for the
T. S. Eliot Prize
The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...
)
* ''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 eEditor
* ''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