Out Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy Wins Costa Poetry Prize

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, a Scottish poet and playwright, has won the Costa poetry prize, reports BBC.

Duffy, an out lesbian, won nominated for her collection of poetry The Bees.  Duffy’s book will compete with four other books that won Costa prizes for Costa Book of the Year, which will be announced Jan. 24.

Duffy was appointed Britain’s Poet Laureate in May 2009, and was the first Scot, first woman and the first openly gay person to fill the position. In 1999, Duffy narrowly lost out on filling Ted Hughes’ position as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, but has noted that she would not have accepted at that time because of the public attention that would have focused on her raising a young child in a lesbian relationship with poet Jackie Kay. Her daughter is now a teenager, and her relationship with Kay has since ended.

Image via Getty.

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