Maureen Duffy
Encyclopedia
Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 Oct 1933 in Worthing
, Sussex) is a contemporary British poet, playwright and novelist. She has also published a literary biography of Aphra Behn
, and The Erotic World of Faery a book-length study of eroticism in faery fantasy literature.
. She also attended the secondary school Sarah Bonnell She went on to be a schoolteacher from 1956 to 1961, and edited three editions of a poetry magazine called the sixties. She then turned to writing full-time as a poet and playwright after being commissioned to produce a screenplay by Granada Television
. Her first novel, written at the suggestion of a publisher, That's How It Was (1962), was published to great acclaim. Her first openly lesbian novel was The Microcosm (1966), set in the famous lesbian Gateways club
in London.
To date she has published around thirty works, including five volumes of poetry. Her Collected Poems, 1949–84 appeared in 1985. Her work has often used Freudian ideas and Greek Myth as a framework.
Her novel The Gor Saga was televised in 1988 in a three part miniseries called First Born
starring Charles Dance
.
She is said to have been Britain's first lesbian to "come out
" in public, and made public comments before the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts in 1967. In 1977 she published "The Ballad of the Blasphemy Trial", a broadside against the trial of the Gay News
newspaper for 'blasphemous libel'.
She has been active in a variety of groups representing the interest of writers, and was at one time the President of the European Writers' Congress. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 1985 and awarded their Benson Medal
in 2004. She is deeply interested in issues around enforcing traditional forms of intellectual property law.
She is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
.
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, Sussex) is a contemporary British poet, playwright and novelist. She has also published a literary biography of Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
, and The Erotic World of Faery a book-length study of eroticism in faery fantasy literature.
Life and work
After a tough childhood, Duffy took her degree in English from King's College LondonKing's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. She also attended the secondary school Sarah Bonnell She went on to be a schoolteacher from 1956 to 1961, and edited three editions of a poetry magazine called the sixties. She then turned to writing full-time as a poet and playwright after being commissioned to produce a screenplay by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
. Her first novel, written at the suggestion of a publisher, That's How It Was (1962), was published to great acclaim. Her first openly lesbian novel was The Microcosm (1966), set in the famous lesbian Gateways club
Gateways club
The Gateways club was a noted lesbian nightclub located at 239 Kings Road on the corner of Bramerton Street, Chelsea, London, England. It was the longest-surviving such club in the world, opening in 1930 and legally becoming a "members club" in 1936...
in London.
To date she has published around thirty works, including five volumes of poetry. Her Collected Poems, 1949–84 appeared in 1985. Her work has often used Freudian ideas and Greek Myth as a framework.
Her novel The Gor Saga was televised in 1988 in a three part miniseries called First Born
First Born
First Born is a British television serial produced by the BBC in 1988.Charles Dance starred as genetic researcher Edward Forester, whose work leads him to create a man-gorilla hybrid, using his own sperm and cells taken from a female gorilla...
starring Charles Dance
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
.
She is said to have been Britain's first lesbian to "come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
" in public, and made public comments before the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts in 1967. In 1977 she published "The Ballad of the Blasphemy Trial", a broadside against the trial of the Gay News
Gay News
Gay News was a pioneering fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality...
newspaper for 'blasphemous libel'.
She has been active in a variety of groups representing the interest of writers, and was at one time the President of the European Writers' Congress. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 1985 and awarded their Benson Medal
Benson Medal
The Benson Medal is a medal awarded by the Royal Society of Literature in the UK.It was founded in 1916 by A. C. Benson who was a Fellow of the Society, to honour those who produce "meritorious works in poetry, fiction, history and belles-lettres."...
in 2004. She is deeply interested in issues around enforcing traditional forms of intellectual property law.
She is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
.
Further reading
- Yorke, L. (1999). "British lesbian poetics: a brief exploration". Feminist Review; (62) Summer 1999, pp. 78–90.