ANDREW Motion, the former Poet Laureate, presents poems from his latest collection, The Cinder Path, and takes part in a question-and-answer session this evening at Selby+Town%22+%2B%22Northern+Counties%22">Selby Town Hall.

“It’s our first foray into poetry here and we thought: why not start at the top?” says Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer. “It’s quite a coup for the town hall.”

Professor Motion, who taught English at the University of Hull from 1976 to 1981, will be spending the afternoon with A-level students at Selby College for a “poetry conversation”.

“I don’t know about you, but as an A-level English student I’d have been pretty thrilled to have the monotony of analysing Shakespeare broken by a visit from one of the nation’s greatest living poets,” says Chris.

Professor Motion, who stood down as Poet Laureate in April after ten years in the post, says the best poems are those which speak to us about the important things in our lives in a way that we never forget.

“Any heavier definition than that begins to collapse under its own weight and exclude many forms of poetry,” he suggests.

• Tickets cost £13 in advance on 01757 213758 or £15 on the door from 7.30pm.