She succeeded Sir Andrew Motion as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom on May 1, 2009.
She was awarded an Eric Gregory Award in 1984 and a Cholmondeley Award in 1992 from the Society of Authors, the Dylan Thomas Award from the Poetry Society in 1989 and a Lannan Literary Award from the Lannan Foundation (USA) in 1995. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999.
She studied philosophy at the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.
Former partner of Scottish poet and novelist, Jackie Kay.
Has one daughter, Ella (born 1995), whose biological father is fellow poet, Peter Benson.
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1995 Queen's Honours List and the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2002 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to literature.
Professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England since 1996. (July 2010)
She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to poetry. She is a poet laureate and professor residing in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England.