Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet who, according to Danette DiMarco in Mosaic, is the poet of "post-war England: Thatcher's England." Duffy is most known for his love poetry, which frequently take the form of monologues. Duffy was born on 30 November 1945 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He grew up in West Hampstead, London, and attended St Paul's School. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English literature, he worked as a schoolteacher for three years before turning to writing full time. His first collection of poems, The Gaudy Night, was published in 1971 when he was 24 years old. Since then he has gone on to publish several more collections of poetry as well as writing essays, reviews, and lyrics for songs. He has also edited two books of poetry. In an interview with John Mullan, Duffy said that his poetic method is based on "reciting what comes into my head during waking hours." This can be seen in many of his poems where people talk about their feelings or report what they see and hear around them. These short pieces are called "spurts". He also stated that his aim is to make people laugh and cry while reading his work. Duffy is married to the painter Angus MacKenzie.