About Ruth Padel
Ruth Padel, born May 8, 1946 in London, is a British poet, novelist, literary critic, and non-fiction author. She began her career as a professor of Greek at the University of Oxford and then Birkbeck, before leaving teaching to devote herself entirely to writing in 1984. She published her first book of poetry Alibi, in 1985 followed by Summer Snow, in 1990. The first woman to be elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 2009, she subsequently resigned from her position following a controversy surrounding her main rival's withdrawal from the election. She subsequently taught poetry at King's College London from 2013 to 2022. She has been particularly involved in wildlife conservation, and draws inspiration from wildlife for some of her writing.She is also a winner of the UK National Poetry Competition and a trustee of the Zoological Society of London. Several of her award-winning books and poems focus on genetics and zoology.
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Every choice is a loss. The past is not where you left it
