An Evening with Simon Armitage
Join UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage for an engaging evening of readings from his two gloriously illustrated Sunday Times bestsellers, Blossomise and Dwell, and his latest book hot-off-the-press, New Cemetery.
His numerous awards include the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.
He has published over a dozen poetry collections and three memoir bestsellers. He also writes extensively for television and radio, including BBC Radio 4’s The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed and more recently, My Poetry and Other Animals.
| Date | Wednesday 12th November 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 7:30 PM | |
| Doors Open | 6:45 PM | |
| Venue | The Dembe Theatre (Formerly The Court Theatre) | |
Simon Armitage was born and grew up in West Yorkshire. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and an Ivor Novello Award for his song writing. He has published over a dozen poetry collections, including Magnetic Field: the Marsden Poems, and acclaimed medieval translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Owl and the Nightingale. His recent books Blossomise and Dwell were both Sunday Times bestsellers.
His major new poetry collection New Cemetery is out now. Armitage also writes, records and performs with the band LYR, most recently with the Ulster Orchestra for the Proms: 100 years of the Shipping Forecast. His book Never Good with Horses features his song lyrics for the first time and celebrates his ear for the music of language.
He is the author of two novels and three memoir bestsellers: All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. A regular broadcaster, who also writes for television and radio, Armitage presented the popular BBC Radio 4 series The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed and, more recently, My Poetry and Other Animals. An award-winning dramatist, his plays The Last Days of Troy and his contemporary spin on Hansel and Gretel were performed at Shakespeare's Globe.
Armitage is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. A Vertical Art brings together the vibrant and engaging lectures from his tenure as Oxford Professor of Poetry (2015-2019). He was appointed as Poet Laureate in 2019.
'Armitage's poetic world is instantly recognisable, always inclusive.' New Statesman
'Among Armitage's talents has always been his ability to set up easy-going conversational rhythms, then use them to power through difficult material.' Guardian