British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Professor Edna Longley
Professor of English, Queen's University, Belfast

Year elected: 2006

She is one of the most influential critics writing on modern British and Irish poetry. She has written or edited over a dozen important works on poetry from Edward Thomas to the present. She is also a powerful voice in contemporary Irish culture, a well-known reviewer and speaker, and she has had a huge and enabling influence on the literary culture of Northern Ireland in particular.