is a poet, children's author, playwright, song writer and screenwriter. She has published two volumes of poetry and two children's books and has had plays for children and young people staged at the Polka Theatre, London; the Leicester Haymarket Theatre and the Pegasus Theatre, Oxford. Her poetry cycles with music and dance have been widely performed (including at the Royal Festival Hall) and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. In 2001-2003, she developed a Creative Writing and Critical Commentary course for Oxford undergraduates with Professor Lucy Newlyn which was funded by the Institute for the Advancement of University Learning. She has co-written a 26-part TV animation series for children and, for two years, ran a poetry programme for BBC Radio Oxford. She has also worked as a Civil Servant at No 10 Downing Street, preparing weekly Parliamentary briefings for the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. She left the Equality and Human Rights Commission in March 2008 to concentrate on writing. She teaches poetry at Oxford University, and is an External Examiner at York University.