British poet, author, and translator known for Skull Event, The God-Trap, Love's Journeys, and other poetic works. His novels include The Hermaphrodite Album and In the Country of the Skin.
He studied at Queen's College, Cambridge, where he edited a literary publication entitled Delta.
He received the 1996 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.
He married Barbara Sherlock, an artist, and had two children. Later, he wed Penelope Shuttle, with whom he had a third child.
He was born in the same year as fellow British poet Geoffrey Hill.