Andrew Motion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Motion
FRSL
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Motion reading poetry in 2009
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| Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1 May 1999 – 1 May 2009 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Ted Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Carol Ann Duffy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 October 1952 London, England |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
| Education | Radley College |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Poet |
Sir Andrew Motion (born October 26, 1952) is a famous English poet, novelist, and biographer. He held the special role of Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. This is a royal position for a poet who writes poems for important national events.
During his time as Poet Laureate, Motion started the Poetry Archive. This is an online collection of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work. In 2012, he became the President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, an organization that works to protect the English countryside.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Andrew Motion was born in London on October 26, 1952. His father, Richard Motion, worked in brewing, and his family was well-known in their local area.
When Andrew was 12, his family moved to a village called Stisted in Essex. He went to boarding school from a young age. He spent a lot of time exploring the countryside with his dog and grew to love nature.
Later, he attended Radley College. There, an inspiring English teacher named Peter Way introduced him to poetry. He discovered poets like Thomas Hardy, Philip Larkin, and Ted Hughes.
When Andrew was 17, his mother had a serious horse-riding accident. She suffered a bad head injury and was unwell for nine years before she passed away in 1978. Motion has said that writing helped him keep her memory alive.
Around age 18, he left the village to study English at University College, Oxford. At university, he studied with the famous poet W. H. Auden. Motion won a poetry prize and graduated with top honors.
Career Beginnings
From 1976 to 1980, Andrew Motion taught English at the University of Hull. While there, at 24 years old, he published his first book of poems. He also met the university's librarian and poet, Philip Larkin.
After Larkin's death in 1985, Motion became one of the people in charge of his writings. He later wrote a biography about Larkin, called Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life. This book won an award in 1994 and changed how many people viewed Larkin's work.
Motion also worked as an editor for a publishing company, Chatto & Windus. He edited Poetry Review, a poetry magazine, and became a professor of creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Today, he teaches at the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars in the United States.
Poet Laureate Role
Andrew Motion was chosen as Poet Laureate on May 1, 1999, after the death of the previous laureate, Ted Hughes. Unlike past laureates who held the position for life, Motion decided he would only stay for ten years. He also received a traditional gift of a large barrel of wine, called a "butt of sack."
Motion wanted to write poems about current events and everyday life, rather than just for royal occasions. He wrote poems for various groups, including:
- The Trades Union Congress about freedom.
- The Salvation Army about homelessness.
- ChildLine about bullying.
- The foot and mouth outbreak.
- The Paddington rail disaster.
- The 11 September attacks.
- Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier from World War I.
- The charity Combat Stress about the effects of war on soldiers.
- Climate change for a song cycle.
In 2002, Motion helped unveil a special plaque in London. It marked the place where poets John Keats and Henry Stephens lived while they were medical students.
In 2003, Motion wrote a poem called Regime change about the Invasion of Iraq. In 2005, he wrote "Spring Wedding" for the wedding of Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles. He also wrote a five-part poem for 109-year-old Harry Patch, a World War I veteran.
As Poet Laureate, he also founded the Poetry Archive. This is an online library with recordings of poets reading their own work.
Motion found some parts of the job challenging and felt it sometimes affected his own writing. However, he was glad he took on the role and continued to work for poetry even after stepping down.
On his last day as Poet Laureate, he taught a creative writing class at his old school, Radley College. He thanked his former English teacher, Peter Way, for inspiring him. Carol Ann Duffy took over as Poet Laureate on May 1, 2009.
After Being Laureate
After his laureateship, Motion continued to be very active. He became chairman of the Arts Council of England's literature panel and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2003, he became a professor of creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Since 2009, Motion has been Chairman of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. He is also a vice-president of the Friends of the British Library, which helps fund the British Library. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 2009, which means he can use the title "Sir."
In 2010, Motion was chosen to lead the judging panel for the Man Booker Prize, a major literary award. He also announced he was writing a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's famous book Treasure Island. The new book, called Silver, was published in 2012.
In 2011, Motion's first play, Incoming, about the war in Afghanistan, was performed. He also appeared as a poetry teacher in the TV show Jamie's Dream School.
In June 2012, he became the President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. In 2015, he won the Ted Hughes Award for his radio program Coming Home, which featured poetry based on recordings of British soldiers returning from wars.
In 2017, Motion moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, to teach at Johns Hopkins University.
Andrew Motion's Writing Style
Andrew Motion has said that he writes poems to understand things better himself. His work often combines beautiful language with storytelling. He aims to write in clear, simple language that is easy to understand.
He is known as a strong supporter of poetry. Motion has won several awards for his work, including the Arvon Prize, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
Personal Life
Andrew Motion has three children. He currently lives part of the year in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.
Selected Honours and Awards
- 1975: Won the Newdigate prize for Oxford undergraduate poetry
- 1976: Eric Gregory Award
- 1981: Won Arvon Foundation's International Poetry Competition
- 1984: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for Dangerous Play: Poems 1974–1984
- 1987: Somerset Maugham Award for The Lamberts
- 1987: Dylan Thomas Prize for Natural Causes
- 1994: Whitbread Prize for Biography for Philip Larkin: A Writer’s Life
- 1999: Appointed Poet Laureate
- 2009: Knight Bachelor (received the title "Sir")
- 2014: Wilfred Owen Poetry Award
- 2015: Ted Hughes Award for Coming Home
Images for kids
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Radley College, where Andrew Motion studied.
See also
In Spanish: Andrew Motion para niños
