'In the world of British poetry, Carol Ann Duffy is a superstar'- The Guardian Duffy is a Scottish playwright and poet and is currently a professor at Manchester Met University teaching contemporary poetry. She was appointed the British Poet laureate in 2009 and in doing so became the first woman, scot and openly LGBT person to hold the title. Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence and a lot of her work is often studied within schools in the UK. A lot of her work focuses on current events for example in 2009 she wrote a poem tackling the MP expenses scandal and in 2010 wrote a poem entitled 'Achilles (for David Beckham)' after he injured himself and couldn't play in the World Cup later that year.