News at Eleven: Working-class, politically conscious households

of that period were, often, small temples to autodidacticism. Was this the case with [Carol Ann] Duffy's home? She shakes her head. "My father didn't read at all." He was very keen on education, but seems to have been suspicious of his daughter's literary inclinations. "My father would try to stop me writing poetry. He thought that was time wasting and I should be doing maths. He'd often take my writing off me and say, 'Get out and get some fresh air.'

from The Scotsman: Interview: Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy talks Christmas, poetry, politics and perks of the job

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