A child refugee from Hungary in 1956 George Szirtes lives in the UK and published his first book of poems, The Slant Door, in 1979. It won the Faber Prize. He has published many since then, winning the T S Eliot Prize in 2004 for which he has been twice shortlisted since. His latest book is Mapping the Delta (Bloodaxe 2016). He has been awarded various international prizes for his translations of Hungarian poetry and fiction. He has written for children, for the stage and had frequently collaboration with artists and musicians. He retired from teaching in 2013.