Christopher O'Shaughnessy was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1944. He trained to be a teacher at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill, from 1964-67. He taught in London schools for over 40 years until 2005 when he retired from the profession. In 2024, like so many others, he was awarded an Honorary BEd for his services to education. Christopher is married with two sons and five grandchildren.He has always written poetry (from the age of eight) and encouraged his pupils to do likewise. Along the way he managed to gain a Diploma in Religious Studies (Birkbeck), an MA in Religious Education (Surrey University), an MA in Playwriting (Royal Holloway), and a PhD in Theatre and Performance (Goldsmiths). Incorporating drama techniques was an important and vital aspect of his teaching in schools.In 1967, while still a student, he came second in the Poetry Society's Greenwood Competition, a precursor of the National Poetry Competition. His first book of poetry was Awakening: Poems of 1963 published in 1968. The current book Talking in the Dark: Selected Poems 1 is presented as a memorial and acknowledgement of work produced over many years.As the title suggests this is a book in which the unseen and the marginalised come to the fore and reveal themselves as uncompromising and provocative linguistic impulses.