Ian Parks was born in 1959 in Mexborough, South Yorkshire. The son of a miner, he has taught creative writing at the universities of Sheffield, Leeds, Oxford, De Montfort and Hull. His many collections include Gargoyles in Winter, Shell Island, The Landing Stage, Love Poems 1979-2009, The Exile’s House and The Cavafy Variations. He is the editor of Versions of the North: Contemporary Yorkshire Poetry and runs Read to Write in Doncaster.

Books by Ian Parks:

Other poems on the web by Ian Parks:
"Elegy for the Chartist Poets"
Three poems
Five poems
Five poems

About Citizens:

"Ian Parks has an instantly recognisable voice: spare, lyrical, memorable, and intense. Whatever subject he addresses – historical, political, romantic - he transforms through the sheer force of his poetic identity."
—Donald Davie

"A real poetic gift: pure poetry written as though coming ready-made from outside him."
—John Powell Ward

"Reading a poem by Ian Parks is like hearing your name uttered in the din of a public place: you hear it regardless of the background noise."
—Peter Dale