‘Part of Duffy’s talent – besides her ear for ordinary eloquence, her gorgeous, powerful, throwaway lines, her subtlety – is her ventriloquism . . . From verbal nuances to mind-expanding imaginative leaps, her words seem freshly plucked from the minds of non-poets – that is, she makes it look easy’ Charlotte Mendelson, Observer

‘Nobody is ever going to need to be told how to enjoy a Carol Ann Duffy poem . . . She is an inspired reinterpreter of myth and a fertile creator of fables of her own’ Evening Standard

‘Carol Ann Duffy is arguably the nation’s favourite living poet’ Jeanette Winterson