Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright, who became Britain's Poet Laureate in 2009. She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold the position. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, Duffy's poems address issues of oppression, gender, and violence. She is presently a professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University. The Katherine Kearney Carpenter Lecture is sponsored by the English Department.