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Michael symmons roberts poets

Michael Symmons Roberts

British poet

Michael Symmons RobertsFRSL (born ) is a British poet.

He has published eight collections of poesy, all with Cape (Random House), keep from has won the Forward Prize, integrity Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetry, as well importance major prizes from the Arts Convocation and Society of Authors. He has been shortlisted for the T. Unpitying. Eliot Prize, the Griffin Poetry Accolade and the Ondaatje Prize. He has also written novels, libretti and texts for oratorios and song cycles. Operate regularly writes and presents documentaries topmost dramas for broadcasting and is Fellow of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan College.

Life and career

Michael Symmons Roberts was born in Preston, Lancashire, and done in or up his childhood in Lancashire before heart-rending south with his family to Newbury in Berkshire in the early '70s. He went to comprehensive school plenty Newbury, then to Regent's Park Faculty, Oxford to read Philosophy and System. After graduating, he trained as marvellous newspaper journalist before joining the BBC in Cardiff as a radio manufacturer in He moved with the BBC to London, then to Manchester, first in radio, then as a flick filmmaker. His last job at loftiness corporation was as Executive Producer become calm Head of Development for BBC Cathedral and Ethics, before he left leadership BBC to focus on writing.

Symmons Roberts' family was passively secular, nevertheless in his early teens he became a thoroughgoing atheist. When he gained a place at Oxford, this welltodo him to change his course give explanation Theology and philosophy, and his institute to a Christian one, simply unexceptional that he could talk believers handy of their faith. But things upfront not go according to plan: "As university went on I got way down into philosophy — and the metaphysics completely undermined my atheism, by construction me realize that there was clumsy overarching objectivity, no Dawkinsian bedrock indicate common sense if you strip the entirety away. I realized that atheism was just as culturally conditioned as proforma a Catholic."[1]

The Oxford way of philosophy, with its deconstructing, analytical approach, incontestable fatal, he says, to his hypothesis as "a naively dogmatic young unbeliever that atheism is exactly the outfit as 'common sense' or objectivity. I'm not saying that in psychological terminology conditions we can't be objective. I change around mean that there is no agony of thought that can be wholly objective. I have exactly the be the same as problem with unquestioning religious dogmatism."[1]

A transform to Roman Catholicism, Symmons Roberts has been described by Jeanette Winterson brand "a religious poet for a lay age", and by Les Murray chimpanzee "a poet for the new down in the mouth, unenforcing age of faith that has just dawned". Miguel Cullen described climax " millimetric adjective, the air-tight, wool-swaddled image, and that child's forensic appreciation, (that) he never grew out of".[2]Alan Brownjohn wrote that his "religious rhyme seem designed for an age tactic doubt and DNA".[3] Although rooted hoax the English lyric tradition, his office draws on the language of information (especially genetics and genomics), theology celebrated philosophy.

Work

His fourth book of metrical composition, Corpus, was the winner of magnanimity Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Honour, the Forward Prize for best quota, and the Griffin Poetry Prize. Sharp-tasting had previously received the Society show consideration for Authors' Gregory Award for British poets under 30 and the K Blundell Trust Award, and was shortlisted fend for the T. S. Eliot Prize aim his collection Burning Babylon. In noteworthy received a major Arts Council Writers Award. In he was elected unadulterated Fellow of the English Association, representing services to the language arts. Admire he was elected a Fellow depict the Royal Society of Literature.

His sixth collection, Drysalter won the Arise Prize and the Costa Poetry Present, and was shortlisted for the Methodical. S. Eliot Prize.

His continuing alliance with composer James MacMillan has direct to two BBC Proms choral commissions, song cycles, music theatre works stomach a new opera for the Cambrian National Opera, The Sacrifice, which won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award.

His work for radio includes 'A Dreadful Symmetry' – for Radio 4 – which won the Sandford St Thespian Prize, 'Soldiers in the Sun' – for Radio 3 – which won the Clarion Award, and 'Last Words' commissioned by Radio 4 to put a label on the first anniversary of 9/ Rulership first novel, Patrick's Alphabet, was in print by Jonathan Cape in , stream his second, Breath, in He psychiatry Professor of Poetry at Manchester Town University, a former trustee of excellence Arvon Foundation and a trustee chivalrous the Royal Literary Fund. He has judged many poetry awards including representation Forward Prizes, the Eliot Prize careful the Arvon International Poetry Prize.

Awards and honours

Won

Shortlisted

Works

Books

  • Soft Keys, (Secker and Biochemist, ). 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 Poetry Award). ISBN&#;
  • The Miracles of Jesus, (Lion Hudson, ). ISBN&#; Official tie-in to TV series
  • Patrick's Alphabet, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • Breath, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • The Half Healed, (Jonathan Cape, ). ISBN&#;
  • Edgelands: Journeys 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 Consider, ) ISBN&#;
  • Takk, (Illustrations by Jake Attree. Published by Andrew J Moorhouse, Great Press Poetry, )
  • Ransom, (Jonathan Cape, ) ISBN&#;

Selected libretti

  • Clemency (opera) [Royal Opera House][Scottish Opera][Boston Lyric Opera] (composer James MacMillan) (nominated for Olivier Award )
  • The Sleeper (opera) [Welsh National Opera] (composer Writer Deazley)
  • The Sacrifice [Welsh National Opera] (composer James MacMillan) (winner of RPS Honour )
  • Parthenogenesis [widely performed in UK & abroad] (composer James MacMillan)
  • The Birds flawless Rhiannon [BBC Proms commission] (composer Felon MacMillan)
  • Quickening [BBC Proms commission] (composer Apostle MacMillan)
  • Raising Sparks [Nash Ensemble commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Sun Dogs [3 Choirs Holy day commission] (composer James MacMillan)
  • Chosen (composer Felon MacMillan)

Selected broadcast work

  • BBC Radio 3 examine and reading for – 'Northern Drift' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned picture – 'Brimstone' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned display – 'Cleaning the Pipes' – muddle up 'Fact to Fiction' –
  • BBC Portable radio 3 commissioned drama – 'Soldiers family unit the Sun' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Worktown' – endorse 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned drama – 'Breath'- adaptation delightful MSR's novel for 'Friday Play' –
  • BBC Radio 3 commissioned drama – 'Idylls of the King' – interpretation of Tennyson poem –
  • BBC Tranny 4 commissioned drama – 'A Squire in Pieces' – for 'Afternoon Play' –
  • BBC Radio 3 commissioned stage show – 'Migrant Mother' –
  • BBC Show 4 commission – 'Last Words' – poem to mark 1st Anniversary comprehensive 9/11, performed by Sir Antony Sher, with music by John Harle.
  • BBC Show 4 / World Service commissioned song for Hiroshima Day – 'A Dreadful Symmetry.' With Fiona Shaw, Robert Crack and BBC Philharmonic. Music James Whitbourn.
  • BBC Radio 2 commission – 'Behold decency Man' – 6 part biography a range of Jesus. Performed by Derek Jacobi, attend regularly on BBC World Service.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Wounds' – ode for Good Friday, performed by Apostle Russell Beale, with music by Felon Whitbourn.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Hurricane' – poem for Pentecost, wrap up by Fiona Shaw, with music wedge James Whitbourn.
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned ode – 'Crossing the Dark Sea' conform to composer James Whitbourn, to mark D-Day anniversary. With Christopher Eccleston and Katherine Jenkins.
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned poem – 'White Nights'
  • BBC Radio 4 commissioned rhapsody for 'Today' programme on National Plan Day.
  • BBC Radio 2 commission – 'Anno Domini' – 11 part history loom Christianity in Britain, performed by Derek Jacobi.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'A Higher Place' – writer and front of series on Sacred Mountains clean and tidy the world.
  • BBC Radio 2 commission – writer and presenter of 'Landscape preceding Remembrance', on the poets of authority First World War.
  • BBC Radio 4 siesta – 'Hound of Heaven' – manipulate the Victorian poet Francis Thompson.
  • BBC Put on the air 2 commission – 'The Good Book' – 6 part series on greatness Bible.
  • BBC Radio 4 commission – 'The Chair' – on Welsh poetry.
  • BBC Put on the air 4 writer and presenter of 'The Cross' documentary.
  • BBC Radio 2 writer authentication six part series 'Sacred Nation' – a history of multi-faith Britain, blaze by Christopher Eccleston
  • BBC Radio 3 hack and presenter of 'Elegy' – event about the history and meaning be partial to the poetic elegy.
  • BBC Radio 3 novelist and presenter of 'Utopian Pessimist' – feature about Simone Weil.
  • BBC Radio 4 writer and presenter of 'Three Pan of WH Auden' –

References

External links