Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, is back in the region to read from his work at Winchester Tower Arts Centre next week.

Regular readers of Creative Corner will now know quite a lot about the nation's leading poet, as he has been involved extensively with Polly Clark's residency here at the Daily Echo and has written exclusively for the paper.

Andrew has won many awards for his nine collections of poetry and is also an acclaimed biographer of the poets Philip Larkin and John Keats.

Through his biographical work he has pushed the boundaries of what is considered 'biography', mixing fiction with fact in Wainwright the Poisoner and in his fascinating new novel The Invention of Dr Cake, taking the real character of Keats and answering the "What if?" question - What if Keats had not died of tuberculosis so young and had actually gone on to live an ordinary life?

Andrew is a keen fisherman and has written extensively about the sport.

Daily Echo readers may remember that their first meeting with him in the pages of this newspaper was in 2001 when he wrote about a fishing trip he took on the Solent.

He is also a fervent educationalist and has used the post of Poet Laureate to bring publicity to his belief that creativity is essential to a proper education.

In 2002 he launched the School's Echo project, a hugely successful scheme in which schools across the region put together their very own newspaper then published in the Daily Echo.

In his talk to the schools, Andrew said: "With so much pressure on the curriculum, it is even more important that windows for children to be properly creative are found.

"Projects like this are exactly what our children need."

The event at Winchester is an opportunity to see a writer at the height of his powers who has taken a passionate interest in our region.

You can see Andrew on Tuesday, May 20 at 7pm, Tower Arts Centre, Winchester. Tickets £8, concessions £7. Telephone 01962 867986.