Ian Parks

[1] Described by Chiron Review as 'the finest love poet of his generation',[1] Parks was born in Mexborough, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The son of a miner, Parks grew up during the declining years of the industry - something which was to have a profound effect on his later work.

His first collection of poems, Gargoyles in Winter was published in 1986, the same year in which he received a Yorkshire Arts Award.

His collections include A Climb Through Altered Landscapes (Blackwater, 1998), Shell Island (Waywiser, 2006), The Cage (Flux Gallery Press, 2008), Love Poems 1979-2009 (Flux Gallery Press, 2009) The Landing Stage (Lapwing, Belfast, 2010),[2] The Exile's House (Waterloo, 2012)[2] and Citizens (Smokestack 2017).

A selection of his poems appears in Old City: New Rumours [3] edited by Carol Rumens and Ian Gregson.