Carol Ann Duffy at Oxford

Carol Ann Duffy read at Oxford University last night and it was a stunning reading. She read some well known poems from The World's Wife (Mrs Midas, Mrs Faust, Mrs Tireseus) and a clutch of unpublished poems, often featuring bees, an environmental concern that is finding its way into her peotry at present, as well as a number of recent poems that have appeared in the press (John Barleycorn, Atlas). Her reading struck the difficult balance between wit and seriousness, speed and pacing perfectly and was a masterclass in how to do a reading well. 'A snowball wept in my hands' from a poem on the death of her mother says it all - what a star. It was a priviledge to be there.