Sean O’Brien is a poet, critic, playwright, broadcaster, anthologist and editor. He grew up in Hull and now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne; he is Professor of Poetry at Sheffield Hallam University and teaches on the MA Writing course. His five collections of poetry to date have all won awards, most recently Downriver (Picador, 2001), which won the Forward Prize for best collection. In 2002 Cousin Coat: Selected Poems 1976-2001 was published by Picador. His book of essays on contemporary poetry, The Deregulated Muse (Bloodaxe), was published in 1998, as was his acclaimed anthology The Firebox: Poetry In Britain And Ireland After 1945 (Picador). His most recent work is a verse translation of Dante's Inferno, which Picador published in 2006.

O'Brien's talent extends far beyond description ... powerful, resonant and thought-provoking Guardian It's almost as though he's seeing into a kind of pool in which the past is there, held in a sort of suspension ... exhilarating -- Peter Porter