Ian Duhig
Robert Ian Duhig (born 9 February 1954 London) is a British poet. In 2014, he was a chair of the final judging panel for the T. S. Eliot Prize awards. Life. He was the eighth of eleven children born to Irish parents. He graduated from Leeds University. He worked for 15 years with homeless people before becoming a poet and writer. Duhig has written occasional articles for magazines and newspapers including Moving Worlds, Poetry London, The Poetry Review and "The Irish Times". He has also worked on a variety of commissions, particularly involving music. He wrote 'In the  Key of H' with the contemporary composer Christopher Fox for the Ilkley Festival, co-operating again with Fox on an insert to 'The Play of Daniel', which can be heard on Fox's DVD 'A Glimpse of Sion's Glory'. He was commissioned by The Clerks, a vocal consort specialising in pre-baroque music, to write new poems for 'Le Roman de Fauvel', which was first performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank in 2007, and enthusiastically reviewed in "The New York Times" when performed in that city in 2009. Duhig is an anthologised short story writer , represented in the award-winning 'The New Uncanny' from Comma Press, a creative updating of Freud's famous essay with other writers including A.S Byatt and Hanif Kureishi. He has also written for the stage including a piece with Rommi Smith, directed by Polly Thomas, on 'God Comes Home' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2009. This considered the ramifications of the case of David Oluwale, a homeless Nigerian immigrant to Leeds, who died after a campaign of persecution by two local policemen. Duhig has subsequently written several poems about this tragic story, some featuring in his book 'Pandorama' and  he continues to be involved with the David Oluwale Memorial Association. Duhig was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2006. Duhig also happens to be an uncle of Australian musician Gareth Liddiard, renowned for his work with bands such as The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm. Teaching Fellowships at Lancaster and Leeds Universities. Northern Arts Literary Fellow 2000, International Writer Fellow, Trinity College Dublin 2003.