Harry Eyres established the FT’s Slow Lane column, which celebrates the creative use of down-time, in January 2004. Before that in a varied journalistic career he was a theatre critic and arts writer for The Times (1987-1993), wine editor of Harpers & Queen (1989-1996), wine columnist for The Spectator (1984-1989) and the first and so far the only Poetry Editor of The Daily Express (1996-2001). He has written on wine and food, travel, theatre, literature and music for most of the UK’s leading newspapers.

In addition to his journalistic work Harry Eyres is a published poet, editor of LSE Environment, the newsletter of LSE’s Centre for Environmental Policy and Governance, and teaches London theatre for a consortium of American universities. He wrote the Beginner’s Guide to Plato’s The Republic for Hodder & Stoughton’s Beginner’s Guides to Great Works series. He was born in London in 1958, read English at Cambridge University and holds the Diploma de Estudios Hispanicos from Barcelona University and an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Evaluation from LSE. - -

• E-mail Harry Eyres