Simon Armitage, The Poet Laureate

It's the week of William Shakespeare's birthday, so Gyles has poetry on his mind... and we thought we'd celebrate with a special conversation recorded with Simon Armitage, who has been Poet Laureate since 2019. Gyles finds out about Simon's childhood and early days, when he played out on the moors with his friends, watched TV and read comics... long before he became turned on to poetry by reading Ted Hughes. Gyles hears about Simon's parents, his love of indy music, and his first career as a probation officer. Gyles and Simon talk about poetry, about Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. We hope you enjoy this episode, and that it inspires you to read some poetry today - Simon's most recent book, Blossomise, it out now - it's a celebration of blossom and is well worth reading this springtime.

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