Michael Laskey is a freelance poet, editor and tutor with many years experience of promoting contemporary poetry.

He founded the international Aldeburgh Poetry Festival in 1989 and directed it through its first decade. In 2008 he stepped down as chairman, but continued to be closely associated with the Festival until 2014.

He also founded the poetry magazine Smiths Knoll with Roy Blackman in 1991. After Roy’s death in 2002, he went on editing it with Joanna Cutts until 2012 when they reached issue 50 and ceased publication. He also runs The Garlic Press which specialises mostly in publishing the work of Suffolk poets.They also published a number of pamphlets by individual poets under the Smiths Knoll imprint.