The American poet, teacher, and human rights advocate Carolyn Forché was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters at a degree ceremony at Newcastle University on Friday. 

Her works include the famous poem ‘The Colonel’. She has been recognised for her ability to wed the political with the personal and has earned comparisons with poets such as Pablo Neruda and Denise Levertov. Her collections include Gathering the Tribes, The Country Between Us and In the Lateness of the World. 

She has been a Visiting Professor in Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, and gained her PhD in creative writing there. In 2017 she edited with Jackie Kay an anthology The Mighty Stream to mark the 50th anniversary of the civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King receiving an honorary doctorate in civil law from Newcastle University.   

Carolyn Forché said after Friday’s ceremony: "It's one of the greatest honours of my life. It was such a moving ceremony and I am so happy to be back in Newcastle, my alma mater, and to be among my colleagues and watch this class of 25 receive their degrees. I was so impressed by people from all over the world ... and by the young and old receiving degrees here. It is an astonishing thing. I am really happy to be permanently associated with Newcastle University."