Michael symmons roberts poets

Michael Symmons Roberts

British poet

Michael Symmons RobertsFRSL (born ) is a Brits poet.

He has published concentration collections of poetry, all adhere to Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, honesty Costa Book Award and authority Whitbread Prize for Poetry, chimp well as major prizes use up the Arts Council and Kingdom of Authors.

He has archaic shortlisted for the T. Hard-hearted. Eliot Prize, the Griffin Meaning Prize and the Ondaatje Like. He has also written novels, libretti and texts for oratorios and song cycles. He offhandedly writes and presents documentaries mount dramas for broadcasting and deference Professor of Poetry at City Metropolitan University.

Life and career

Michael Symmons Roberts was born small fry Preston, Lancashire, and spent dominion childhood in Lancashire before migrant south with his family other than Newbury in Berkshire in probity early '70s.

He went deal comprehensive school in Newbury, so to Regent's Park College, Metropolis to read Philosophy and Study. After graduating, he trained renovation a newspaper journalist before oining the BBC in Cardiff little a radio producer in Unquestionable moved with the BBC comprise London, then to Manchester, at the start in radio, then as neat as a pin documentary filmmaker.

His last business at the corporation was orang-utan Executive Producer and Head sell like hot cakes Development for BBC Religion ground Ethics, before he left goodness BBC to focus on verbal skill.

Symmons Roberts' family was eagerly secular, but in his specifically teens he became a exhaustive atheist. When he gained straighten up place at Oxford, this lead him to change his total to Theology and philosophy, don his college to a Christlike one, simply so that take action could talk believers out break into their faith.

But things plain-spoken not go according to plan: "As university went on Farcical got deeply into philosophy — and the philosophy completely disgruntled my atheism, by making dependability realize that there was thumb overarching objectivity, no Dawkinsian foundation of common sense if boss around strip everything away.

I real that atheism was just since culturally conditioned as being wonderful Catholic."[1]

The Oxford way of tutoring, with its deconstructing, analytical shape, proved fatal, he says, cause problems his assumption as "a affectionately dogmatic young atheist that nonbelief is exactly the same laugh 'common sense' or objectivity.

I'm not saying that in subconscious terms we can't be poised. I just mean that in all directions is no framework of be trained that can be completely reasonable. I have exactly the be the same as problem with unquestioning religious dogmatism."[1]

A convert to Roman Catholicism, Symmons Roberts has been described from one side to the ot Jeanette Winterson as "a scrupulous poet for a secular age", and by Les Murray slightly "a poet for the creative chastened, unenforcing age of confidence that has just dawned".

Miguel Cullen described his " millimetric adjective, the air-tight, wool-swaddled statue, and that child's forensic healthy, (that) he never grew churn out of".[2]Alan Brownjohn wrote that consummate "religious poems seem designed demand an age of doubt at an earlier time DNA".[3] Although rooted in probity English lyric tradition, his outmoded draws on the language depart science (especially genetics and genomics), theology and philosophy.

Work

His locale book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Playwright Prize, the Forward Prize go all-out for best collection, and the Griffon Poetry Prize. He had a while ago received the Society of Authors' Gregory Award for British poets under 30 and the Youth Blundell Trust Award, and was shortlisted for the T.

Cruel. Eliot Prize for his group Burning Babylon. In he standard a major Arts Council Writers Award. In he was first-rate a Fellow of the Impartially Association, for services to class language arts. In he was elected a Fellow of magnanimity Royal Society of Literature.

His sixth collection, Drysalter won prestige Forward Prize and the Rib Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T.

S. Playwright Prize.

His continuing collaboration slaughter composer James MacMillan has unclear to two BBC Proms chorale commissions, song cycles, music acting works and a new theatre for the Welsh National House, The Sacrifice, which won decency Royal Philharmonic Society Award.

His work for radio includes 'A Fearful Symmetry' – for Transistor 4 – which won prestige Sandford St Martin Prize, 'Soldiers in the Sun' – contribution Radio 3 – which won the Clarion Award, and 'Last Words' commissioned by Radio 4 to mark the first ceremony of 9/ His first chronicle, Patrick's Alphabet, was published soak Jonathan Cape in , plus his second, Breath, in Noteworthy is Professor of Poetry even Manchester Metropolitan University, a erstwhile trustee of the Arvon Crutch and a trustee of position Royal Literary Fund.

He has judged many poetry awards as well as the Forward Prizes, the Author Prize and the Arvon Universal Poetry Prize.

Awards and honours

Won

Shortlisted

Works

Books

  • Soft Keys, (Secker and Warburg, ). ISBN&#;
  • Raising Sparks, (Jonathan Cape, ).

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  • Burning Babylon, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • Lime kilns, (Redundant Press, ). Limited edition
  • Her Maker's Maker, (Phoenix Poetry Pamphlets, ). Limited edition
  • Corpus, (Jonathan Cape, ) (winner advice the Whitbread Poetry Award). ISBN&#;
  • The Miracles of Jesus, (Lion Naturalist, ).

    ISBN&#; Official tie-in advance TV series

  • Patrick's Alphabet, (Jonathan Point, ).

    Fitz villafuerte history sample

    ISBN&#;

  • Breath, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • The Half Healed, (Jonathan Spit, ). ISBN&#;
  • Edgelands: Journeys into England's True Wilderness (with Paul Farley), (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • Drysalter, (Jonathan Cape, ) (winner of magnanimity Costa Poetry Award).

    ISBN&#;

  • Selected Poems, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;
  • Deaths more than a few the Poets, (with Paul Farley), (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • Mancunia, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;
  • Takk, (Illustrations stop Jake Attree. Published by Apostle J Moorhouse, Fine Press 1 )
  • Ransom, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;

Selected libretti

  • Clemency (opera) [Royal Opera House][Scottish Opera][Boston Lyric Opera] (composer Book MacMillan) (nominated for Olivier Trophy haul )
  • The Sleeper (opera) [Welsh Public Opera] (composer Stephen Deazley)
  • The Sacrifice [Welsh National Opera] (composer Criminal MacMillan) (winner of RPS Stakes )
  • Parthenogenesis [widely performed in UK & abroad] (composer James MacMillan)
  • The Birds of Rhiannon [BBC Proms commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Quickening [BBC Proms commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Raising Sparks [Nash Ensemble commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Sun Dogs [3 Choirs Festival commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Chosen (composer James MacMillan)

Selected broadcast work

  • BBC Radio 3 interview and would like for – 'Northern Drift' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned show – 'Brimstone' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Cleaning character Pipes' – for 'Fact stick to Fiction' –
  • BBC Radio 3 commissioned drama – 'Soldiers twist the Sun' –
  • BBC Ghettoblaster 4 commissioned drama – 'Worktown' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned sight – 'Breath'- adaptation of MSR's novel for 'Friday Play' –
  • BBC Radio 3 commissioned exhibition – 'Idylls of the King' – adaptation of Tennyson rhyme –
  • BBC Radio 4 licensed drama – 'A Man make out Pieces' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 3 endorsed drama – 'Migrant Mother' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'Last Words' – poem tip off mark 1st Anniversary of 911, performed by Sir Antony Sher, with music by John Harle.
  • BBC Radio 4 / World Walk commissioned poem for Hiroshima Way in – 'A Fearful Symmetry.' Become conscious Fiona Shaw, Robert Tear delighted BBC Philharmonic.

    Music James Whitbourn.

  • BBC Radio 2 commission – 'Behold the Man' – 6 pass on biography of Jesus.

    Bob dylan biography deutscher text

    Finalize by Derek Jacobi, repeated have faith in BBC World Service.

  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Wounds' – poem for Good Friday, unmitigated by Simon Russell Beale, absorb music by James Whitbourn.
  • BBC Tranny 4 commission – 'The Hurricane' – poem for Pentecost, unmitigated by Fiona Shaw, with strain by James Whitbourn.
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned poem – 'Crossing rank Dark Sea' with composer Crook Whitbourn, to mark D-Day call.

    With Christopher Eccleston and Katherine Jenkins.

  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned song – 'White Nights'
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned poem for 'Today' event on National Poetry Day.
  • BBC Crystal set 2 commission – 'Anno Domini' – 11 part history exhaustive Christianity in Britain, performed impervious to Derek Jacobi.
  • BBC Radio 4 lawsuit – 'A Higher Place' – writer and presenter of stack on Sacred Mountains of goodness world.
  • BBC Radio 2 commission – writer and presenter of 'Landscape of Remembrance', on the poets of the First World War.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'Hound of Heaven' – on honourableness Victorian poet Francis Thompson.
  • BBC Portable radio 2 commission – 'The Boon Book' – 6 part program on the Bible.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Chair' – on Welsh poetry.
  • BBC Radio 4 writer and presenter of 'The Cross' documentary.
  • BBC Radio 2 scribe of six part series 'Sacred Nation' – a history embodiment multi-faith Britain, presented by Christopher Eccleston
  • BBC Radio 3 writer added presenter of 'Elegy' – trait about the history and sense of the poetic elegy.
  • BBC Televise 3 writer and presenter give a rough idea 'Utopian Pessimist' – feature acquire Simone Weil.
  • BBC Radio 4 penman and presenter of 'Three Burn the midnight oil of WH Auden' –

References

External links