Ruth Padel is a prize-winning UK poet and author in a wide range of fields: poetry, fiction, criticism, Greek scholarship. wildlife, conservation and music. Her latest book of poems, shortlisted for the UK 2014 T S Eliot Prize, revolves around the Middle East, craftsmanship and creativity: "Making is our defence against the dark." "Steeped in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the three Abrahamic faiths, she is a poetic Daniel Barenboim, determined to find common ground and arrive, at some approximation of Middle Eastern harmony. The collection includes more than one poem on a musical instrument, including the oud." (Observer)Ruth is a great great grand-daughter of Charles Darwin: her verse biography of Darwin, "Darwin - A Life in Poems", is published by Knopf. Her account of tiger conservation, "Tigers in Red Weather" was shortlisted for the US Kiriyama prize. "Occasionally you open a new book, read a few pages and just know: This is special." (Michael Dirda Washington Post) See www.ruthpadel.com and follow Ruth on Twitter @ruthpadel.