View source for Simon Armitage

{{Short description|English poet (born 1963)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Simon Armitage
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|CBE|FRSL}}
| image               = Krankenhaus Simon Armitage (48710400372) (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Armitage in September 2019
| office              = [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom]]
| monarch             = [[Elizabeth II]]<br/>[[Charles III]]
| term_start          = 10 May 2019
| term_end            = 
| predecessor         = [[Carol Ann Duffy]]
| successor           = 
| birth_name          = Simon Robert Armitage
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1963|05|26|df=y}}
| death_date          = 
| birth_place         = [[Huddersfield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
| residence           = [[Holme Valley]], [[West Yorkshire]], England
| occupation          = Poet, playwright, novelist, singer
| education           = [[Colne Valley High School]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Portsmouth|Portsmouth Polytechnic]]<br/>[[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]]
| spouse              = Alison Tootell (div.)<br/>Sue Roberts
| children            = 1
| website             = {{URL|simonarmitage.com}}
}}

'''Simon Robert Armitage''' (born 26 May 1963)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simonarmitage.com/biography/ |title=Biography » Simon Armitage – The Official Website |website=www.simonarmitage.com}}</ref> is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]] on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the [[University of Leeds]].

He has published over 20 collections of poetry, starting with ''[[Zoom! (poetry book)|Zoom!]]'' in 1989. Many of his poems concern his home town in [[West Yorkshire]]; these are collected in ''[[Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems]]''. He has translated classic poems including the ''[[Odyssey]]'', the [[Alliterative Morte Arthure|Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'']], ''[[Pearl (poem)|Pearl]]'', and ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''. He has written several travel books including ''Moon Country'' and ''[[Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way]]''. He has edited poetry [[Anthology|anthologies]] including one on the work of [[Ted Hughes]]. He has participated in numerous television and radio documentaries, dramatisations, and travelogues.

== Early life and education ==

Armitage was born in [[Huddersfield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://literature.britishcouncil.org/simon-armitage |title=Simon Armitage |publisher=British Council Literature |access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=simon%20r&lastname=armitage&eventyear=1963&eventyear_offset=0|title=Results for England & Wales Births 1837–2006|publisher=Search.findmypast.co.uk|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> and grew up in the village of [[Marsden, West Yorkshire|Marsden]], where his family still live.<ref name=Profile>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00055r2|title=BBC Radio 4, Profile — Simon Armitage|date=18 May 2019|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> He has an older sister, Hilary. His father Peter was a former electrician, [[probation officer]] and [[firefighter]] who was well known locally for writing plays and [[pantomime]]s for his all-male panto group, ''The Avalanche Dodgers''.<ref name=Profile/><ref>{{cite news |last=Stelfox |first=Hilarie |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/lifestyle/thespian-gene-runs-strongly-armitage-6701904 |title=The Thespian gene runs strongly in the Armitage family, Simon met his first wife whilst performing in plays.|newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 February 2014 |access-date=11 May 2019 }}</ref>

He wrote his first poem aged 10 as a school assignment.<ref name=Profile/> Armitage first studied at [[Colne Valley High School]], [[Linthwaite]], and went on to study geography at [[University of Portsmouth|Portsmouth Polytechnic]]. He was a postgraduate student at the [[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]], where his MA thesis concerned the [[Research on the effects of violence in mass media|effects of television violence on young offenders]]. Finding himself jobless after graduation, he decided to train as a probation officer, like his father before him. Around this time he began writing poetry more seriously,<ref name=Profile/> though he continued to work as a probation officer in [[Greater Manchester]] until 1994.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |first=Alison |last=Flood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/10/simon-armitage-poet-laureate |title=Simon Armitage named UK's poet laureate |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 May 2019 |access-date=11 May 2019 }}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Simon Armitage in 2009.jpg|thumb|right|Armitage in 2009]]
He has lectured on creative writing at the [[University of Leeds]] and at the [[University of Iowa]], and in 2008<!--and possibly other years--> was a senior lecturer at [[Manchester Metropolitan University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/?id=852 |title=Story, Manchester Metropolitan University |date=24 April 2008 }}</ref> He has made literary, history and travel programmes for [[BBC Radio 3]] and [[BBC Radio 4|4]]; and since 1992 he has written and presented a number of TV documentaries. From 2009 to 2012 he was Artist in Residence at London's South Bank, and in February 2011 he became Professor of Poetry at the [[University of Sheffield]].<ref name="Official"/><ref name="North Guide">{{cite journal |last=Ogden |first=Rachael |date=June 2001 |title=Preview: Simon Armitage |journal=The North Guide |page=27}}</ref> He was elected to serve as Professor of Poetry at the [[University of Oxford]] for 2015–2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/biography/ | title=Biography – Simon Armitage }}</ref> In October 2017 he was appointed as the first Professor of Poetry at the [[University of Leeds]].<ref name="leedsuni">{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage comes full circle with Professor of Poetry post |url=https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4111/simon_armitage_comes_full_circle_with_professor_of_poetry_post |publisher=University of Leeds |access-date=28 March 2018 |date=2 October 2017}}</ref> In 2019 he was appointed [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]] for ten years, following [[Carol Ann Duffy]].<ref name=dcms-2019 />  He is a trustee of the [[National Poetry Centre]], a charity established in 2022 which plans to open "a new national home for poetry" in Leeds in 2027.<ref>{{cite news |title=National Poetry Centre in Leeds gets £5m funding boost |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-68504054 |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=BBC News |date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Team |url=https://www.nationalpoetrycentre.org.uk/#team |website=National Poetry Centre |access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> In 2025 he received the [[Freedom of the City of London]], for "his outstanding achievements in the written word and his enthusiastic promotion of poetry, in particular, to the younger generation".<ref name=london>{{cite web |title=City of London pays tribute to Simon Armitage |url=https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/city-of-london-pays-tribute-to-simon-armitage/ |website=City of London |access-date=10 May 2025 |language=en |date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Simon Armitage Hay On Wye Festival 2023.jpg|thumb|Armitage at the Hay on Wye Festival in June 2023]]

=== Writing ===
[[File:Simon Armitage in 2015.jpg|thumb|Armitage in 2015]]

Armitage's first book-length poetry collection ''[[Zoom! (poetry book)|Zoom!]]'' was published in 1989.<ref name=Guardian/> As well as some new poems, it contained works published in three pamphlets in 1986 and 1987.<ref>{{cite book |last=Armitage |first=Simon |title=Zoom! |publisher=[[Bloodaxe Books]] |publication-place=Newcastle upon Tyne |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-85224-078-3 |oclc=21872787 |page=6}}</ref>
His poetry collections include ''[[Book of Matches]]'' (1993) and ''The Dead Sea Poems'' (1995). He has written two novels, ''Little Green Man'' (2001) and ''The White Stuff'' (2004), as well as ''All Points North'' (1998), a collection of essays on [[Northern England]]. He produced a dramatised version of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' and a collection of poetry entitled ''Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid'' (shortlisted for the [[T. S. Eliot Prize]]), both published in 2006. Armitage's poems feature in multiple British [[GCSE]] syllabuses for English Literature.<ref name="Childs 2012">{{cite book |last=Childs |first=Tony |title=The poetry of Simon Armitage: a study guide for GCSE students |publisher=[[Faber and Faber]] |publication-place=London |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-571-27825-1 |oclc=779244544 |chapter=Introduction |quote=Simon Armitage has become one of the most popular and widely studied poets for school students ... studying any of his poems for GCSE ... poems set for study by either OCR or AQA or Edexcel}}</ref> He is characterised by a dry Yorkshire wit combined with "an accessible, realist style and critical seriousness."<ref name="North Guide"/> His translation of ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'' (2007) was adopted for the ninth edition of ''[[The Norton Anthology of English Literature]]'', and he was the narrator of a 2010 BBC documentary about the poem and its use of landscape.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvbny |title=Sir Gawain and the Green Knight |publisher=BBC Four |date=17 August 2010 |work=[[BBC Online]] |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

For the [[Stanza Stones Trail]], which runs through {{convert|47|mile|km}} of the Pennine region, Armitage composed six new poems on his walks. With the help of local expert Tom Lonsdale and letter-carver Pip Hall, the poems were carved into stones at secluded sites. A book, containing the poems and the accounts of Lonsdale and Hall, has been produced as a record of that journey<ref>[http://www.stanzastones.co.uk Profile], stanzastones.co.uk; accessed 11 May 2015.</ref> and has been published by [[Enitharmon Press]]. The poems, complemented with commissioned wood engravings by Hilary Paynter, were also published in several limited editions under the title 'In Memory of Water' by Fine Press Poetry.<ref name="water-finepress">{{cite web |title=In Memory of Water |url=http://www.finepresspoetry.com/in-memory-of-water---simon-armitage.html |publisher=Fine Press Poetry |access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref> For [[National Poetry Day]] in 2020, [[BT Group|BT]] commissioned him to write "Something clicked", a reflection on lockdown during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="bt">{{cite web |title=Something Clicked |url=https://www.bt.com/broadband/something-clicked |website=www.bt.com |publisher=BT |access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref> In 2023 [[The National Trust]] commissioned a poem by Armitage for [[Brimham Rocks]] in North Yorkshire. Artist [[Adrian Riley]] collaborated with Armitage and stone carver Richard Dawson to create 'Balancing Act' – a gateway-like public artwork carrying Armitage's poem where the rocks meet moorland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage at Brimham Rocks |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/brimham-rocks/simon-armitage-at-brimham-rocks |website=National Trust |access-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730224126/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/brimham-rocks/simon-armitage-at-brimham-rocks |archive-date=30 July 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Audsley |first1=Natasha |title='Mythical or pieces of an alien landscape'- Yorkshire's Simon Armitage poem carved into stone at Brimham Rocks |url=https://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/mythical-or-pieces-of-an-alien-landscape-yorkshires-simon-armitage-poem-carved-into-stone-at-brimham-rocks-4193145 |access-date=12 February 2024 |work=Harrogate Advertiser |date=22 June 2023}}</ref>

=== Writing as Poet Laureate ===

In 2019 Armitage's first poem as [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]], "Conquistadors", commemorating the [[Apollo 11|1969 Moon landing]], was published in ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name=flood-moon>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/27/moon-landing-poem-launches-simon-armitage-as-poet-laureate |title=Moon landing poem launches Simon Armitage as poet laureate| last=Flood |first=Alison |date=27 July 2019| work=The Guardian |access-date=2 August 2019 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="conquistadors">{{cite web |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=Conquistadors |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Conquistadors.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 September 2019}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref>
Armitage's second poem as Poet Laureate, "Finishing it", was commissioned in 2019 by the [[Institute of Cancer Research]]. [[Graham Short]], a micro-engraver, meticulously carved the entire 51-word poem clearly onto a facsimile of a cancer treatment tablet.<ref name="glynn">{{cite web |last1=Glynn |first1=Paul |title=Simon Armitage pens poem on cancer pill |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/49341002 |work=BBC News |access-date=27 September 2019 |date=14 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="finishing-it">{{cite web |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=Finishing It |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/ICR-Finishing-It-Poem-Photo-copytouse.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 September 2019}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> Armitage wrote "All Right" as part of [[Northern (train operating company)|Northern]] train operator's suicide prevention campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week. Their video has a soundtrack of the poem being read by [[Mark Addy]], while the words also appear on screen.<ref name="northern">{{cite news |title=Northern's new suicide prevention campaign asks the people of Manchester: "All Right?" |url=https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/northern-new-suicide-prevention-campaign-asks-the-people-of-manchester-all-right |access-date=27 September 2019 |publisher=Northern Railway |date=15 May 2019}} ''Includes video of the poem''</ref> On 21 September 2019 he read his poem "Fugitives", commissioned by the Association of [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty|Areas of Natural Beauty]], on [[Arnside Knott]], Cumbria, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the [[National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949|National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act]], during an event which included the formation of a heart outlined by people on the hillside.<ref name="aonb-fugitives">{{cite web |title=Celebrating our special landscapes |url=https://www.arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk/celebrating-special-landscapes/ |publisher=Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty |access-date=27 September 2019 |date=23 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="ecologist">{{cite news |title=Poem commissioned to celebrate national parks |url=https://theecologist.org/2019/sep/25/poem-commissioned-celebrate-national-parks |work=Ecologist |date=25 September 2019| access-date=27 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="fugitives">{{cite web |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=Fugitives |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Fugitives.pdf |access-date=27 September 2019}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref name="fugitives-video">{{cite web |title=Video of Armitage reading "Fugitives" on Arnside Knott |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/fugitives-video/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref> Armitage wrote "Ark" for the naming ceremony of the [[British Antarctic Survey]]'s new ship [[RRS Sir David Attenborough|RRS ''Sir David Attenborough'']] on 26 September 2019.<ref name="bas">{{cite web |title=Ship is named with royal ceremony |url=https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/ship-is-named-with-royal-ceremony/ |publisher=[[British Antarctic Survey]] |access-date=27 September 2019 |date=26 September 2019}}</ref><ref name="ark">{{cite web |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=Ark |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Amended-Ark.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 September 2019}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref name="ark-video">{{cite web |title=Video of Armitage reading "Ark" |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/ark-video/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Armitage, Simon |date=September 2020 |title=Ark |journal=Scientific American |volume=323 |issue=3 |pages=20 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0920-22 |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-bring-back-the-leaf/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> "the event horizon" was written in 2019 to commemorate the opening of The Oglesby Centre, an extension to [[Hallé St Peter's]], the Halle orchestra's venue for rehearsals, recordings, education and small performances. The poem is incorporated into the building "in the form of a letter-cut steel plate situated in the entrance to the auditorium, the 'event horizon'".<ref name="eventhorizon">{{cite web |title=the event horizon |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Event-Horizon-RV-Simon-Armitage-2019.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> "Ode to a Clothes Peg" celebrates the bicentenary of [[John Keats]]' [[John Keats's 1819 odes|six 1819 odes]] of which Armitage says, "Among his greatest works, the poems are also some of the most famous in the English Language."<ref name="peg">{{cite web |title=Ode to a Clothes Peg |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Ode-to-a-Clothes-Peg-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref>

On 12 January 2020, Armitage gave the first reading of his poem "Astronomy for Beginners", written to celebrate the bicentenary of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]], on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Broadcasting House (radio programme)|Broadcasting House]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d6rx|title=BBC Radio 4 – Broadcasting House, 12/01/2020|website=BBC}}</ref><ref name="astronomy">{{cite web |title=Astronomy for Beginners |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Astronomy-for-Beginners-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> "Lockdown", first published in ''[[The Guardian]]'' on 21 March 2020, is a response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|coronavirus pandemic]], referencing the Derbyshire "plague village" of [[Eyam]], which self-isolated in 1665 to limit the spread of the [[Great Plague of London]], and the Sanskrit poem "[[Meghadūta]]" by [[Kālidāsa]], in which a cloud carries a message from an exile to his distant wife.<ref name="flood-lockdown">{{cite news |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Lockdown: Simon Armitage writes poem about coronavirus outbreak |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/21/lockdown-simon-armitage-writes-poem-about-coronavirus-outbreak |access-date=30 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=21 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="lockdown">{{cite web |title=Lockdown |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Lockdown-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=30 March 2020}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> Armitage read his "Still Life", another poem about the lockdown, on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme on 20 April 2020.<ref name="today-still">{{cite web |title='Still Life' by Simon Armitage |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08b0n8m |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=28 January 2021 |date=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Still Life">{{cite web |title=Still Life|url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Still-Life.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=28 January 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> An installation of his "The Omnipresent" was part of an outdoor exhibition ''Everyday Heroes'' at London's [[Southbank Centre]] in autumn 2020.<ref name="everyday">{{cite web |title=Everyday Heroes |url=https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/everyday-heroes?tab=poets |website=www.southbankcentre.co.uk |publisher=Southbank Centre |access-date=28 January 2021 }}</ref><ref name="omnipresent">{{cite web |title=The Omnipresent |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Omnipresent.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=28 January 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> [[Huddersfield Choral Society]] commissioned Armitage to provide lyrics for works by [[Cheryl Frances-Hoad]] and [[Daniel Kidane]], resulting in "The Song Thrush and the Mountain Ash" and "We'll Sing", which were released on video in autumn 2020. Armitage asked members of the choir to send him one word each to represent their experience of lockdown, and worked with these to produce the two lyrics.<ref name="wellsing-lyrics">{{cite web |title=Lyrics |url=https://wellsing.huddersfieldchoral.com/lyrics |website=We'll Sing |publisher=Huddersfield Choral Society |access-date=28 January 2021}} ''Includes word list''</ref><ref name="parr">{{cite web |last1=Parr |first1=Freya |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to write lyrics to music set by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Daniel Kidane in response to COVID-19 |url=https://www.classical-music.com/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-to-write-lyrics-to-music-set-by-cheryl-frances-hoad-and-daniel-kidane-in-response-to-covid-19/ |website=Classical Music |access-date=28 January 2021 |language=en |date=9 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="wellsing">{{cite web |title=We'll Sing |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Well-Sing.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=28 January 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref name="songthrush">{{cite web |title=The Song Thrush and the Mountain Ash|url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Song-Thrush-and-the-Mountain-Ash.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=28 January 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> Armitage read "The Bed" in [[Westminster Abbey]] on 11 November 2020 at the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the burial of [[The Unknown Warrior]].<ref name="bbc2020nov11">{{cite news |title=Armistice Day: Centenary of Unknown Warrior burial marked |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54897427 |access-date=17 November 2020 |work=BBC News |date=11 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="bed">{{cite web |publisher=Simon Armitage|title=The Bed |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Bed.pdf |access-date=17 November 2020 |date=11 November 2020}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref>

" 'I speak as someone ...' " was first published in ''[[The Times]]'' on 20 February 2021 and commemorates the 200th anniversary of the death of the poet [[John Keats]], who died in Rome on 23 February 1821.<ref name="ispeak">{{cite web |title='I speak as someone...'|url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/I-speak-as-someone.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=29 March 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref name="morrison">{{cite news |last1=Morrison |first1=Richard |title=Simon Armitage: Ode to my hero, John Keats |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/simon-armitage-ode-to-my-hero-john-keats-zt5zvxp57 |access-date=29 March 2021 |work=The Times |date=20 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="nolife">{{cite news |title=No life without death, no death without life': laureate's tribute to Keats |url=https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=112605 |access-date=29 March 2021 |work=Write Out Loud |date=22 February 2021 |language=en-gb}}</ref> To mark a stage in the easing of [[COVID-19 lockdowns#United Kingdom|lockdown]], Armitage wrote "Cocoon" which he read on BBC Radio 4's ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' on 29 March 2021.<ref name="times30march">{{cite news |title=The Times view on the easing of lockdown: A Butterfly Yawns |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/article/the-times-view-on-the-easing-of-lockdown-a-butterfly-yawns-3jkb077k9 |access-date=1 April 2021 |work=The Times |date=30 March 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="touchwood">{{cite news |title='Touch wood, cross fingers ... Out we come': laureate marks easing of lockdown with 'Cocoon' |url=https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=113705 |access-date=1 April 2021 |work=Write Out Loud |date=31 March 2021 |language=en-gb}}</ref> "The Patriarchs – An Elegy" marks the death of [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] and was released on the day of his funeral, 17 April 2021. It refers to the snow on the day of his death, and Armitage has said "I've written about a dozen laureate poems since I was appointed, but this is the first royal occasion and it feels like a big one".<ref name="cain">{{cite news |last1=Cain |first1=Sian |title=Poet laureate Simon Armitage publishes elegy for Prince Philip |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/17/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-elegy-for-prince-philip-the-patriarchs-an-elegy |access-date=24 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=16 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="thepatriarchs">{{cite web |title=The Patriarchs – An Elegy |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Patriarchs-An-Elegy.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=24 April 2021}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref name="bbc-patriarchs">{{cite news |title=Prince Philip: The Patriarchs – An Elegy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-56785412 |access-date=24 April 2021 |work=BBC News |date=17 April 2021}} ''Recording of Armitage reading the poem over a series of photographs''</ref> Armitage wrote "70 notices" in 2021 as a commission for the [[Off the Shelf Festival]] to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the creation of the [[Peak District]] [[National parks of the United Kingdom|National Park]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bolton |first1=Gay |title=Peak District 's 70th anniversary is celebrated in poems and book to be shared at Off the Shelf Festival |url=https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-will-share-his-homage-to-peak-district-at-off-the-shelf-festival-3384854 |access-date=22 February 2022 |work=www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk |date=11 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="seventy">{{cite web |title=70 Notices |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/70-Notices-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=22 February 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> "Futurama" was Armitage's response to the 2021 [[2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference|Cop26]] conference held in Glasgow, and he said of it "I was trying to chart the peculiar dream-like state we seem to be in, where the rules and natural laws of the old world feel to be in flux".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=A strange poem for strange times: a response to Cop26 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/05/a-strange-poem-for-strange-times-a-response-to-cop26 |access-date=6 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=5 November 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="futurama">{{cite web |title=Futurama |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Futurama.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=6 June 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> In November 2019 Armitage announced that he would donate his salary as poet laureate to create the [[Poetry School#Laurel Prize|Poetry School's Laurel Prize]] for a collection of poems "with nature and the environment at their heart". The prize is to be run by the Poetry School.<ref name=flood-laurel>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/21/simon-armitage-nature-has-come-back-to-the-centre-of-poetry |work=[[The Guardian]] |title=Simon Armitage: 'Nature has come back to the centre of poetry' |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=21 November 2019}}</ref>

Armitage wrote "Resistance", about the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], published in ''The Guardian'' on 12 March 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last=Armitage |first=Simon |title=Resistance  |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/resistance-by-simon-armitage-ukraine-poem |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=11 March 2022 }} ''Text of poem''</ref><ref name="resistance">{{cite web |title=Resistance |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Resistance-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=6 June 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> He described it as "a refracted version of what is coming at us in obscene images through the news".<ref name="sherwood">{{cite news |last=Sherwood |first=Harriet |title=Poet laureate Simon Armitage writes Ukraine war poem Resistance |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-writes-ukraine-war-poem-resistance |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=11 March 2022 }}</ref> Armitage read his "Only Human" at [[York Minster]] on 23 March 2022 during a service on the second annual [[National Day of Reflection]] to remember lives lost during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]; the poem will be inscribed in a garden of remembrance at the Minster.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Day of Reflection – Poem; Poet Laureate Simon Armitage – Only Human |url=https://www.englishcathedrals.co.uk/latest-news/national-day-of-reflection-poem-poet-laureate-simon-armitage/ |website=The Association of English Cathedrals |access-date=6 June 2022 |date=2022}}</ref><ref name="onlyhuman">{{cite web |title=Only Human |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Only-Human-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=6 June 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> For the [[Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II]] in June 2022, Armitage wrote "[[Queenhood]]".<ref name="queenhood">{{cite web |title=Queenhood |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/Queenhood-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf|publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=17 June 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref> It was published in ''[[The Times]]'' on 3 June<ref name="billen">{{cite news |last1=Billen |first1=Andrew |title=Queenhood: Read Simon Armitage's new poem for the Platinum Jubilee |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/simon-armitage-ive-been-very-much-won-over-by-the-queen-gg0zrd5g5 |access-date=6 June 2022 |work=The Times |date=3 June 2022 |language=en|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and as a signed limited-edition pamphlet sold through commercial outlets ({{ISBN|9780571379606}}), and on the royal.uk website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Queenhood: A Poem for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022 |url=https://www.royal.uk/queenhood-poem-queen%E2%80%99s-platinum-jubilee-2022 |website=royal.uk |publisher=The Royal Household |access-date=17 June 2022 |date=9 June 2022}}</ref> He published "Floral Tribute" on 13 September 2022, to commemorate the [[Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II|death of Elizabeth II]]; it takes the form of a double [[acrostic]] in which the initial letters of the lines of each of its two stanzas spell out "Elizabeth".<ref>{{cite news |last=Armitage |first=Simon |title=Floral Tribute, a poem for the Queen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/13/floral-tribute-poem-queen-elizabeth-simon-armitage-poet-laureate?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other |access-date=13 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=13 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Knight |first=Lucy |title=Poet laureate honours Queen Elizabeth II with new work, Floral Tribute |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/13/poet-laureate-queen-elizabeth-ii-floral-tribute?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other |access-date=13 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=13 September 2022 }}</ref> Later that day he explained and read the poem on ''[[BBC News at Ten]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001c273 |title=BBC News at Ten |date=13 September 2022 |publisher=bbc.co.uk |access-date=14 September 2022}}</ref> To celebrate the centenary of the [[BBC]], Armitage wrote "Transmission Report", which was broadcast on ''[[The One Show]]'' on 24 October 2022, read by a cast of BBC celebrities including [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]], [[Michael Palin]], [[Mary Berry]] and [[Chris Packham]], accompanied by the [[BBC Concert Orchestra]].<ref name="transmission">{{cite web |title=Transmission Report|url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/BBC-100-Transmission-Report-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf|publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=26 October 2022}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC shares Poet Laureate Simon Armitage's poem to mark centenary |url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2022/bbc-centenary-poem-poet-laureate-simon-armitage |website=www.bbc.com |access-date=26 October 2022 |language=en |date=24 October 2022}} ''Includes link to video of the broadcast''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage's poem celebrating 100 years of the BBC released with moving star-studded video |url=https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/english/news/article/2245/simon-armitage-s-poem-celebrating-100-years-of-the-bbc-released-with-moving-star-studded-video |website= |publisher=University of Leeds: School of English |access-date=26 October 2022 |language=en |date=25 October 2022}}</ref> Armitage wrote "The Making of the Flying Scotsman (a phantasmagoria)" to mark the centenary of the locomotive [[LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman|Flying Scotsman]], which entered service on 24 February 1923.<ref name="scotsman">{{cite web |title=The Making of the Flying Scotsman (a phantasmagoria)|url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Making-of-Flying-Scotsman-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf|publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=25 February 2023}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Flying Scotsman: Event marks 100th anniversary of famous locomotive |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-64760769 |access-date=25 February 2023 |work=BBC News |date=24 February 2023}}</ref> On [[World Poetry Day]], 21 March 2023, he released his "Plum Tree Among the Skyscrapers", the first of a series of 10 works to be commissioned by the [[National Trust]] and created by Armitage and his band LYR.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Tobi |title=Simon Armitage savours spring 'ecstasy and melancholy' on World Poetry Day |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/21/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-pays-homage-spring-world-poetry-day |access-date=21 March 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=21 March 2023}} ''Includes full text of the poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage creates blossom-inspired poem |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-creates-blossom-inspired-poem |website=National Trust |access-date=21 March 2023 |language=en |date=21 March 2023}} ''Includes audio clip of Armitage reading the poem''</ref> For the [[coronation of Charles III and Camilla]] on 6 May 2023, Armitage wrote "An Unexpected Guest", telling the tale of a woman invited to attend the coronation in [[Westminster Abbey]], and quoting from [[Samuel Pepys]]' diary entry recording the coronation of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1661.<ref name="unexpected">{{cite web |title=An Unexpected Guest |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/An-Unexpected-Guest-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf|publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=8 May 2023}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A New Simon Armitage Poem to Mark the Coronation |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/a-new-simon-armitage-poem-to-mark-the-coronation/ |website=poetrysociety.org.uk |publisher=The Poetry Society |access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='An Unexpected Guest' – a poem to mark the Coronation |url=https://www.royal.uk/an-unexpected-guest-a-poem-to-mark-the-coronation |publisher=The Royal Household |access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref>

In July 2023, Armitage spent time on [[Spitsbergen]] at the [[British Antarctic Survey]]'s [[Ny-Ålesund]] research station, and wrote a group of poems relating to his visit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate visits UK Arctic Research Station |url=https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/poet-laureate-visits-uk-arctic-research-station/ |website=British Antarctic Survey |access-date=10 October 2023 |date=14 July 2023}}</ref> "The Summit" was published in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in October 2023, ahead of a series of four [[BBC Radio 4]] programmes called ''Poet Laureate in the Arctic'', broadcast from 10 October 2023.<ref name="washy">{{cite news |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title='Washy clouds and a weepy sky floating upside down': Simon Armitage's Arctic expedition |url=https://theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/07/washy-clouds-and-a-weepy-sky-floating-upside-down-simon-armitages-arctic-expedition |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=7 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – Poet Laureate in the Arctic |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001r7zg |website=BBC |access-date=10 October 2023 |date=10 October 2023}}</ref>  "Polaris" was the lyric used for [[BBC Radio 3]]{{'s}} 2023 Carol Competition: Armitage said "I was hoping to write something that might appeal to people of different backgrounds and different ages, with a narrative and maybe a slight nursery rhyme or nonsense feel to it, but with a serious and timely message at its heart. I don't think there are any other carols that begin with the words "The police…!"".<ref>{{cite web |title=Polaris |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Polaris-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=7 April 2025}} ''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage pens climate inspired lyrics for this year's BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/simon-armitage-pens-lyrics-for-bbc-radio-3-carol-competition |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en |date=11 September 2023}}</ref> "Megalosaurus" celebrates the 200th anniversary of the naming of the [[megalosaurus]] and was commissioned by the [[Oxford University Museum of Natural History]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Megalosaurus |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Megalosaurus-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=7 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=From the 'first dinosaur' to the scientific legacy of a 19th-century power couple |url=https://www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/breaking-ground-exhibition-news-release-oct-2024.pdf |publisher=Oxford University Museum of Natural History |access-date=7 April 2025 |date=9 October 2024}}</ref> "Hinge" forms part of a collaboration with sculptor [[Anthony Gormley]], commissioned by [[Trinity College, Oxford]]: the poem is displayed in relief on a rusting metal door which leads into the college grounds from [[Parks Road]] and unveiled in March 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hinge |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hinge-by-Simon-Armitage-1.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=7 April 2025 |date=2025}}''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=College Unveils Public Art Collaboration Between Antony Gormley and Simon Armitage |url=https://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/news/college-unveils-public-art-collaboration-between-antony-gormley-and-simon-armitage |website=www.trinity.ox.ac.uk |publisher=Trinity College Oxford |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en |date=13 March 2025}}</ref> [[His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service]] commissioned "A Life In The Day Of" as part of a March 2025 campaign aiming to recruit [[probation officer]]s with life experience, the way Armitage's father had joined the service; Armitage drew on his own memories of work as a probation officer.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Life In The Day Of |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/A-Life-In-The-Day-Of-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=7 April 2025 |date=March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Yorkshire's Simon Armitage Pens New Poem To Change Perceptions Of Probation Service |url=https://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Yorkshires-Simon-Armitage-Pens-New-Poem-To-Change-Perceptions-Of-Probation-Servi- |access-date=7 April 2025 |work=Yorkshire Times |date=20 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='A life in the day of' - Simon Armitage's ode to the Probation Service |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwjOu3hCfX0&t=17s |publisher=HM Prison and Probation Service |access-date=7 April 2025 |date=20 March 2025}} ''Video with Armitage voice-over''</ref> [[Portsmouth City Council]] commissioned "The Theatre of the Sea" which is cast in brass letters and embedded in the sea defence wall at [[Southsea]], unveiled in April 2025; Armitage commented that it was "a great honour and a wonderful kind of reunion" to write a poem for the city where he studied for his geography degree.<ref name="paine">{{cite news |last1=Paine |first1=Toby |title=Poignant Simon Armitage poem takes centre stage on Southsea seafront |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/arts-and-culture/simon-armitage-poem-takes-centre-stage-on-southsea-seafront-5085096 |access-date=10 May 2025 |work=The News |date=16 April 2025 |language=en}} ''Includes video of Armitage reading the poem alongside the sea wall''</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Simon | last=Armitage|title=The Theatre of the Sea |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/The-Theatre-of-the-Sea-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=10 May 2025}}''Includes full text of poem''</ref> "The Definition of a Town" was commissioned by [[Kirklees Council]] and will be inlaid in the pavement of a New Street in [[Huddersfield]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Simon | last=Armitage|title=The Definition of a Town |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-Definition-of-a-Town-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=18 September 2025}}''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaw |first1=Martin |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage's poem to Huddersfield to be set in New Street paving |url=https://huddersfieldhub.co.uk/poet-laureate-simon-armitages-poem-to-huddersfield-to-be-set-in-new-street-paving/ |access-date=18 September 2025 |work=Huddersfield Hub |date=4 April 2025}}</ref> "In Retrospect" was commissioned by [[Historic Royal Palaces]] to mark the 80th anniversary, in May 2025, of [[VE Day]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/a-poem-to-mark-the-80th-anniversary-of-ve-day-by-simon-armitage/|title=A poem to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day by Simon Armitage|first=Tim|last=Woodall|date=7 May 2025|website=Faber}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Armitage |first1=Simon |title=In Retrospect |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/In-Retrospect-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=10 May 2025}}</ref> The [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] opened on 27 September 1825, and Armitage's "The Longest Train in the World" celebrates the history of railways, commissioned as part of "Railway 200".<ref>{{cite web |first=Simon | last=Armitage|title=The Longest Train In The World |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The-Longest-Train-In-The-World-by-Simon-Armitage.pdf|publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=18 September 2025}}''Includes full text of poem''</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate marks railway bicentenary with commemorative poem |url=https://railuk.com/rail-news/poet-laureate-marks-railway-bicentenary-with-commemorative-poem/ |website=Rail UK |access-date=18 September 2025 |date=29 August 2025}} ''Includes video of Armitage reading the poem''</ref>

=== The laureate's library tour ===
In November 2019 Armitage announced that each spring for ten years he would spend a week touring five to seven libraries giving a one-hour poetry reading and perhaps introducing a guest poet. The libraries were to be selected in alphabetical order: in March 2020 he was to visit places or libraries with names starting with "A" or "B" (including the [[British Library]]<ref name="tour-bl">{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage: The Laureate's Library Tour: Fri 20 Mar 2020 |url=https://www.bl.uk/events/simon-armitage-the-laureates-library-tour |publisher=British Library |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref>), and so on until "W", "X", "Y" and "Z" in 2029. He comments: "The letter X will be interesting – does anywhere in the UK begin with X?  I also want to find a way of including alphabet letters from other languages spoken in these islands such as Welsh, Urdu or Chinese, and to involve communities where English might not be the first language."<ref name="tour-bookseller">{{cite news |title=Ten year library tour for Poet Laureate Simon Armitage |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ten-year-library-tour-poet-laureate-simon-armitage-1109486 |access-date=13 January 2020 |work=The Bookseller |date=6 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="tour">{{cite web |title=The Laureate's Library Tour |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laureates-library-tour/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref>

After a delay caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]],<ref name="tourcancellation">{{cite web |title=The Laureate's Library Tour (with cancellation message) |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laureates-library-tour/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316201958/https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laureates-library-tour/ |archive-date=16 March 2020}}</ref> the first tour took place in 2021. Armitage read in various library buildings for a remote, online, live audience, beginning at [[Ashby-de-la-Zouch]] on 26 April and continuing to [[Belper]] with [[Helen Mort]]; [[Aberdeen]] with Mag Dixon; [[Bacup]] with Clare Shaw; [[Bootle]] with Amina Atiq and Eira Murphy; the [[British Library]] with [[Theresa Lola]] and [[Joelle Taylor]]; and [[Abington, Northamptonshire|Abington]], where he officially opened the volunteer-run library on Saturday 1 May.<ref name="tour2021">{{cite web |title=Laureate's Library Tour 2021 goes live! |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/a-b-libraries-tour-2021/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514074644/https://www.simonarmitage.com/a-b-libraries-tour-2021/|archive-date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="abington">{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Welcome to Abington Library |url=https://abingtonlibrarycbs.net/ |publisher=Abington Library |access-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514074915/https://abingtonlibrarycbs.net/| archive-date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="summers">{{cite news |last1=Summers |first1=David |title=Abington Library in Northampton reopens to the public after being saved by the community |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/abington-library-in-northampton-reopens-to-the-public-after-being-saved-by-the-community-3211603 |access-date=14 May 2021 |work=www.northamptonchron.co.uk |date=23 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The 2022 tour visited libraries with initials C, D, and Welsh Ch and DD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apply – C-Dd Libraries Tour 2022 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laureates-library-tour/ |website=The Official Website |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222083128/https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laureates-library-tour/ |archive-date=22 February 2022}}</ref> Between 24 March and 1 April Armitage read at [[Chadderton]] with Keisha Thompson, Fateha Alam and Lawdy Karim; at [[Carmarthen]] with [[Ifor ap Glyn]]; at [[Clevedon]] with Phoebe Stuckes; at [[Colyton, Devon|Colyton]] with [[Elizabeth-Jane Burnett]]; at [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] with [[Patience Agbabi]]; at [[Cambridge University Library]] with [[Imtiaz Dharker]]; at [[Clydebank]] with [[Kathleen Jamie]] and Tawona Sitholé; and at [[Taigh Chearsabhagh]] on [[North Uist]] with [[Kevin MacNeil]].<ref name="tour22">{{cite web |title=How to Book: C to D Libraries Tour 2022 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-book-libraries-tour-2022/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref>

The 2023 tour visited libraries with initials E, F and G from 17 to 23 March. Armitage launched the tour at [[Exeter]] library, appearing with his band Land Yacht Regatta. He then read with [[Jane Lovell]], winner of the 2021 [[Ginkgo Prize]], at [[Glastonbury]] library; solo at [[Eastbourne]] library; with [[Poetry School#Laurel Prize|Laurel Prize]]-winner [[Matt Howard (poet)|Matt Howard]] and [[Foyle Young Poet]] Jenna Hunt at [[Fakenham]] library; with [[Hanan Issa]] at [[Gladstone's Library]] in [[Hawarden]]; and with [[Canal Laureate]] [[Roy McFarlane]] and representatives of [[Theatre Porto]] and [[Boaty Theatre Company]] at [[Ellesmere Port]] library.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Book: E to G Libraries Tour 2023 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-book-e-to-g-libraries-tour-2023/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316122140/https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-book-e-to-g-libraries-tour-2023/|archive-date=16 March 2023}}</ref>

The 2024 tour visited libraries with initials H to K from 5 to 12 March.  The launch event was held at [[Harlesden]] library, where Somali poet [[Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf]] and her translator [[Clare Pollard]] read from her award-winning ''The Sea Migrations: Tahriib''. [[Kent]] libraries hosted an event where Armitage joined the reading group in [[HM Prison East Sutton Park]]. At [[Haverfordwest]] library, Armitage read alongside poet, novelist and playwright [[Owen Sheers]] and [[Pushcart Prize]] nominee [[Bethany Handley]].<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Our Pushcart Prize 2023 Nominees |url=https://poetrywales.co.uk/our-pushcart-prize-2023-nominees/ |website=Poetry Wales |access-date=12 February 2024 |date=5 December 2023}}</ref> At [[The Hive, Worcester]], a joint public and academic library and archive centre, Armitage read with Amelie Simon, Worcestershire's Young Poet Laureate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Worcestershire's Young Poet Laureate 2023/24 has been crowned! |url=https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/news/worcestershires-young-poet-laureate-202324-has-been-crowned |website=www.worcestershire.gov.uk |publisher=Worcestershire County Council |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>  Armitage then visited [[Kirkcudbright]] library, to read with [[Lydia McMillan]], one of the [[Scottish Poetry Library]]'s Next Generation Young Makars in 2022,<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Scotland's Next Generation Young Makars |url=https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/2022/05/scotlands-next-generation-young-makars/ |website= |publisher=[[Scottish Poetry Library]] |access-date=12 February 2024 |date=10 May 2022}}</ref> and the final event of the tour, in [[Haltwhistle]] library, celebrated 100 years of [[Northumberland]]'s library service and ten years of [[Northumberland National Park]]'s status as an [[International Dark Sky Park]], with [[Katrina Porteous]] and the National Park's writer-in-residence [[Sheree Mack]].<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Book: H to K Libraries Tour 2024 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-book-h-to-k-libraries-tour-2024-sut-i-archebu-taith-llyfrgelloedd-h-i-k-yn-ystod-2024/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>

The 2025 tour visited libraries with initials L and M, from 3 to 11 March. It began at Library@theGrange, a small library in Blackpool's [[Grange Park, Blackpool|Grange Park]] estate, where Armitage appeared with spoken word artist and punk poet Toria Garbutt<ref>{{cite web |title=Toria Garbutt |url=https://www.toriagarbutt.net/ |website=toriagarbutt |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref> At [[Letchworth]] Library he was joined by [[Cia Mangat]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The national Jane Martin Poetry Prize Competition celebrates its 15th Anniversary and the 2025 winners are revealed |publisher=Girton College |url=https://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/news/jane-martin-poetry-prize-winners-2025 |website=www.girton.cam.ac.uk |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en |quote=Second Prize was awarded to Cia Mangat ...}}</ref> and at [[Morriston Hospital]] library in [[Swansea]], Wales, he appeared with Welsh poet and activist [[Menna Elfyn]]. He visited [[Liskeard]] Library in Cornwall, alongside [[Pascale Petit (poet)|Pascale Petit]], helping to celebrate the library's refurbishment of this [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1203146 |desc=County Branch Library |access-date=7 April 2025}}</ref> Armitage then returned to his home village to give two solo readings at [[Marsden, West Yorkshire|Marsden]] Library, housed in the former [[Mechanics' Institute]] building. For the final event of the tour Armitage visited the  [[Linen Hall Library]], the oldest library in [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland, appearing with [[Leontia Flynn]].<ref>{{cite web |title=L to M Libraries Tour 2025 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-book-l-to-m-libraries-tour-2025/ |website=Simon Armitage: The Official Website |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2026, Armitage plans to visits libraries in locations beginning with "N", "O" and "P", from 2 to 7 March.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Apply: N, O, P Libraries Tour 2026 |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/how-to-apply-n-o-p-libraries-tour/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=17 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Performing arts ===

Armitage is the author of five stage plays, including ''Mister Heracles'', a version of [[Euripides]]' ''The Madness of Heracles''.  ''The Last Days of Troy'' premiered at [[Shakespeare's Globe]] in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/the-last-days-of-troy?dm_i=1U22,2132J,CGT1IS,7B51H,1 |title=The Last Days of Troy by Simon Armitage starring Lily Cole / Shakespeare's Globe |publisher=Shakespearesglobe.com |access-date=7 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820035121/http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/the-last-days-of-troy?dm_i=1U22,2132J,CGT1IS,7B51H,1 |archive-date=20 August 2017  }}</ref> He was commissioned in 1996 by the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in London to write ''Eclipse'' for the National Connections series, a play inspired by the real-life [[Murder of Lindsay Rimer|disappearance of Lindsay Rimer]] from [[Hebden Bridge]] in 1994, and set at the time of the 1999 solar eclipse in [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/RNTshellc04.htm|title=Shell Connections at the National|year=2004|publisher=Peter Lathan|access-date=3 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010080854/http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/RNTshellc04.htm|archive-date=10 October 2006}}</ref>

Most recently Armitage wrote the [[libretto]] for an opera scored by Scottish composer [[Stuart MacRae (composer)|Stuart MacRae]], ''The Assassin Tree'', based on a Greek myth recounted in ''[[The Golden Bough]]''. The opera premiered at the 2006 [[Edinburgh International Festival]], Scotland, before moving to the [[Royal Opera House]], [[Covent Garden]], London. ''Saturday Night'' (Century Films, BBC2, 1996) – wrote and narrated a fifty-minute poetic commentary to a documentary about nightlife in Leeds, directed by Brian Hill. In 2010, Armitage walked the 264-mile [[Pennine Way]], walking south from Scotland to [[Derbyshire]]. Along the route he stopped to give poetry readings, often in exchange for donations of money, food or accommodation, despite the rejection of the free life seen in his 1993 poem "Hitcher", and has written a book about his journey, called ''Walking Home''.<ref name="Official">{{cite web |url=http://www.simonarmitage.com/ |title=Pennine Way activities on Armitage's website |publisher=Simonarmitage.com |access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref>

In 2007 he released an album of songs co-written with the musician Craig Smith, under the band name ''The Scaremongers''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/sep/29/popandrock.poetry |title=A poet who formed a band |date=28 September 200 |website=The Guardian |access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref>

In 2016 the arts programme [[14–18 NOW]] commissioned a series of poems by Simon Armitage as part of a five-year programme of new artwork created specifically to mark the centenary of the First World War. The poems are a response to six aerial or panoramic photographs of battlefields from the archive of the [[Imperial War Museum]] in London. The poetry collection ''Still'' premiered at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and has been published in partnership with [[Enitharmon Press]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.1418now.org.uk/commissions/still/|title=Simon Armitage: Still |publisher=14–18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions | access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref>

In 2019 he was commissioned by Sky Arts to create an epic poem and film ''The Brink'' as one of 50 projects in "Art 50" looking at British Identity in the light of [[Brexit]]. The Brink looked at the British relationship with Europe, as envisioned from the closest point of the mainland to the rest of the continent – Kent.<ref name="sky50">{{cite web |title='The Brink' by Simon Armitage CBE |url=http://www.skyartsart50.tv/projects/thebrink/ |website=Sky Arts Art 50 |access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>

In 2020 and 2021 Armitage produced a [[podcast]], ''[[The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed]]'', also broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]], in which, while working on the medieval poem ''[[The Owl and the Nightingale]]'', he invited a series of 20 guests to come and talk to him in his garden writing-shed;<ref name="BBC-shed">{{cite web |title=The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p085jg48/episodes/player |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=21 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="inews2020">{{cite news |title=Poet Laureate Simon Armitage launches BBC podcast from his garden shed |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/poet-laureate-simon-armitage-bbc-podcast-shed-interviews-404185 |access-date=17 June 2020 |work=inews.co.uk |date=4 March 2020 }}</ref> a third series of eight episodes was broadcast in 2023.<ref name=mckellen>{{cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed, Ian McKellen |url=
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hwtt
|website=BBC |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> In 2025 Armitage announced that as the BBC were not planning to commission any further series, he planned to relaunch it as a podcast with another broadcaster.<ref name=singh>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Anita |title=Poet Laureate revives axed BBC Radio 4 show as podcast |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/06/simon-armitage-radio-4-show-podcast-bbc-axed/ |access-date=6 April 2025 |work=The Telegraph |date=7 April 2025}}</ref>

Armitage worked with [[Brian Hill (director)|Brian Hill]] on ''Where Did The World Go?'', a "[[COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic]] poem" which "examines life and loss in lockdown and binds the whole narrative with a new, overarching poem from Armitage",<ref name="thorpe">{{cite news |last1=Thorpe |first1=Vanessa |title='I'm more optimistic': poet laureate Simon Armitage tells of Britain's great ordeal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/27/im-more-optimistic-poet-laureate-simon-armitage-tells-of-britains-great-ordeal |access-date=28 December 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=27 December 2020}}</ref> and was shown on [[BBC Two]] in June 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV tonight: poet laureate Simon Armitage takes stock of the pandemic |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jun/18/tv-tonight-poet-laureate-simon-armitage-takes-stock-of-the-pandemic |access-date=22 February 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=18 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Pandemic Poem: Where Did the World Go? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000x2mh |website=BBC |access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref> In December 2020, he was featured walking from [[Ravenscar, North Yorkshire|Ravenscar]], along the old Cinder Track, a disused railway line, past Boggle Hole to [[Robin Hood's Bay]], in the [[Walking with... (BBC Four series)|''Winter Walks'']] series on BBC Four.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qd6r |title=Winter Walks, Series 1, Simon Armitage |publisher= BBC Four}}</ref> In August 2022 Armitage presented ''Larkin Revisited'', a BBC Radio 4 series commemorating [[Philip Larkin]]'s centenary, examining a single Larkin poem in each of the ten episodes.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 – Larkin Revisited, Born Yesterday |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0019yy1 |website=BBC |access-date=9 August 2022}}</ref> In November 2022 Armitage was the narrator in a performance of ''The Owl and the Nigtingale'' on [[BBC Radio 4]] in with [[Maxine Peake]] (owl) and [[Rachael Stirling]] (nightingale).<ref>{{cite web |title=Drama on 4, The Owl and the Nightingale |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dn8h |website=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=25 December 2024 |date=1 November 2022}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Armitage lives in the [[Holme Valley]], [[West Yorkshire]], close to his family home in Marsden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stywiz.bookcrossing.com/journal/3956585 |title=All Points North |via=BookCrossing.com |access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> His first wife was Alison Tootell: they married in 1991.<ref name="IWWiP 2004">{{cite encyclopedia |chapter=Armitage, Simon |title=International Who's Who in Poetry |date=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=58 |isbn=9781857432695 |edition=13th |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EcinRfSQImAC&pg=PA58}}</ref> He then married radio producer Sue Roberts; they have a daughter, Emmeline, born in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |title=Simon Armitage: 'I'm quite boyish in my outlook' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/simon-armitage-im-quite-boyish-in-my-outlook-1843591.html |work=The Independent |date=18 December 2009 |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> Emmeline won the 2017 SLAMbassadors national youth [[poetry slam]] for 13–18-year-olds.<ref>{{cite web |title=SLAMbassadors 2017 winners announced |url=https://slam.poetrysociety.org.uk/blog/slambassadors-2017-winners-announced/ |work=SLAMbassadors |date=19 November 2017 |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> Continuing in both her father's and grandfather's tradition, she is a member of the [[National Youth Theatre]] and a singer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Emmeline Armitage |url=https://soundcloud.com/emmelinearmitage |work=[[SoundCloud]]|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref>

He is a supporter of his local football team, [[Huddersfield Town A.F.C.|Huddersfield Town]], and refers to it many times in his book ''All Points North'' (1996). He is also a [[birdwatcher]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kellaway |first1=Kate |title=To a birdwatcher, one glimpse, one moment is happiness enough |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/22/birdwatching-popularity-kate-kellaway |access-date=27 May 2020 |work=The Observer |date=22 November 2009}}</ref>

== Music ==

Armitage is the first poet laureate who is also a [[disc jockey]].<ref name=Profile/><ref>{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage Guest DJs on Sat 26th May |url=http://www.scaredtodance.co.uk/2012/05/simon-armitage-djing-at-kings-cross-social-club/ |work=Scared to Dance |date=26 May 2012 |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> He is a music fan, especially of [[The Smiths]].<ref name=Profile/> During what his wife Sue described as "a bit of a mid-life crisis", Armitage and his college friend Craig Smith founded the band The Scaremongers.<ref name=Profile/> Their only album, ''Born in a Barn'', was released in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Scaremongers – Born in a Barn |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Barn-Simon-Armitage-Scaremongers/dp/B003535SB0 |work=amazon.co.uk |date=8 March 2010 |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> Armitage is the lead singer of '''LYR''' ('''Land Yacht Regatta'''), a band he is in alongside [[Richard Walters (singer-songwriter)|Richard Walters]] and Patrick J Pearson. The band is signed to Mercury KX, part of [[Decca Records]]. They released their debut album ''Call in the Crash Team'' in 2020 and a single, "Winter Solstice", in 2021 featuring [[Wendy Smith (singer)|Wendy Smith]] from [[Prefab Sprout]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000xbpc |title=BBC Radio 6 Music – Steve Lamacq, 5 Minute Menu |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.totalntertainment.com/music/lyr-winter-solstice-out-today-feat-wendy-smith/|title=LYR 'Winter Solstice' Out Today feat. Wendy Smith|date=11 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.backseatmafia.com/track-lyr-share-redwings-unique-and-profound/|title=Track: LYR share 'Redwings': unique and profound|date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.backseatmafia.com/meet-lyr-on-their-new-music-post-pandemic-life-working-with-simon-armitage-and-more/ |title=Meet: LYR on their new music, post-pandemic life, working with Simon Armitage, and more|date=18 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bradbury |first=Sarah |url=https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2021/05/28/lyrs-patrick-pearson-i-dont-think-you-can-ever-get-close-to-the-energy-that-youll-find-live/ |title=LYR's Patrick Pearson: "I don't think you can ever get close to the energy that you'll find live"|date=28 May 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Harrison |first1=Ian |title=Hello Goodbye |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/mojo-uk/20210801/281535113939577 |via=[[PressReader]] |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408212802/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/mojo-uk/20210801/281535113939577 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |language=en |date=1 Aug 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=1924 |title=Outsideleft Week in Music – We're hearing from The Armed, Alan Vega, Laraaji, LYR, Wadada Leo Smith, Belvedere, The Goa Express, Sarah Neufeld, Steve Almaas, Sam Eagle, The Mountain Goats and Flowertown ...the latest story in Outsideleft|website=outsideleft.com}}</ref>

In May 2020 Armitage was the guest on BBC Radio 4's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''. His choice of music included [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Moonage Daydream]]"; his chosen book was the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', and his luxury was a [[tennis ball]].<ref name="bbc-desert">{{cite web |title=Desert Island Discs, Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j120 |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and distinctions==

=== Awards ===

{{div col}}
* 1988 Eric Gregory Award<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 1989 ''Zoom!'' made a Poetry Book Society Choice<ref name="Zoom! page">{{cite web|last=Armitage|first=Simon |author-link=Simon Armitage |title=Zoom! |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/zoom/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref>
* 1992 [[Forward Prize|Forward Poetry Prize]] for ''Kid''<ref name="Forward Arts Foundation">{{cite web |title=Forward Prize Alumni |url=https://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry-2/forward-prizes-alumni/ |publisher=Forward Arts Foundation |access-date=24 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 1993 ''[[Sunday Times]]'' Young Writer of the Year<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 1994 [[Lannan Literary Award|Lannan Award]]<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 1995 Forward Poetry Prize for ''The Dead Sea Poems''<ref name="Forward Arts Foundation"/>
* 1998 Yorkshire Post Book of the Year for ''All Points North''<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* [[2003 BAFTA]] winner<!--fails verification? https://web.archive.org/web/20061010135810/http://www.bafta.org/site/page230.html - maybe category is wrong--><ref name="Awards to 2006">{{cite web |title=Awards in Full |url=https://simonarmitage.typepad.com/homepage/awards/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 February 2022 |date=28 April 2006}}</ref>
* 2003 [[Ivor Novello Award]] for song-writing<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 2004 Fellow of Royal Society of Literature<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 2005 Spoken Word Award (Gold) for ''The Odyssey''<ref name="Awards to 2006"/>
* 2006 [[Royal Television Society]] Documentary Award for ''Out of the Blue''<ref>{{cite web |title=Out of the Blue |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/out-of-the-blue/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>
* 2008 ''The Not Dead'' (C4, Century Films) Mental Health in the Media Documentary Film Winner<ref name="SA Biography">{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/biography/ |publisher=Simon Armitage |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>
* 2010 ''Seeing Stars'' made a Poetry Book Society Choice<ref name="Poetry Archive (prizes to 2019)">{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage |url=https://poetryarchive.org/poet/simon-armitage/ |publisher=The Poetry Archive |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>
* 2010 [[Keats-Shelley Prize for Poetry]]<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=21 March 2021|title=Simon Armitage wins Keats-Shelley poetry prize|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/14/simon-armitage-wins-keats-shelley-prize|date=14 October 2010|website=The Guardian}}</ref>
* 2010 Appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2010 Birthday Honours|Queen's Birthday Honours List]], for services to literature<ref name="Poetry Archive (prizes to 2019)"/>
* 2012 ''The Death of King Arthur'' made Poetry Book Society Choice<ref name="Poetry Archive (prizes to 2019)"/>
* 2012 Hay Festival Medal for Poetry<ref>{{cite web |title=Hay Festival Medals |url=https://www.hayfestival.com/medals |publisher=[[Hay Festival]] |access-date=27 February 2022}}</ref>
* 2012 [[T. S. Eliot Prize]], shortlist, ''The Death of King Arthur''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/23/ts-eliot-prize-poetry-shortlist |title=TS Eliot prize for poetry announces 'fresh, bold' shortlist |work=[[The Guardian]] |author=Alison Flood |date=23 October 2012 |access-date=23 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2015 Oxford professor of poetry (4-year appointment)<ref name="The Guardian 19 June 2015">{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Alison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/19/simon-armitage-wins-oxford-professor-of-poetry-election |title=Simon Armitage wins Oxford professor of poetry election |date=19 June 2015 |access-date=19 June 2015 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
* 2017 [[PEN American Center|PEN America]] [[PEN Award for Poetry in Translation|Poetry in Translation Prize]] for ''Pearl: A New Verse Translation''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pen.org/2017-pen-literary-awards-winners/|title=2017 PEN America Literary Awards Winners – PEN America |date=27 March 2017 |work=PEN America |access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref>
* 2018 [[Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry]] "for his body of work"<ref>{{cite news |last=Cain |first=Sian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/dec/19/simon-armitage-wins-queens-gold-medal-for-poetry-2018|title=Simon Armitage wins Queen's gold medal for poetry 2018 |date=19 December 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref>
* 2019 [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom]], appointed for 10 years<ref name="dcms-2019">{{cite web |title=Simon Armitage appointed new UK Poet Laureate |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/simon-armitage-appointed-new-uk-poet-laureate |publisher=Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport |access-date=27 September 2019 |date=10 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48228837 |title=Simon Armitage: 'Witty and profound' writer to be next Poet Laureate |work=BBC News |date=10 May 2019 |access-date=10 May 2019}}</ref>
* 2025 [[Freedom of the City of London]]<ref name=london />
* 2025 Violani Landi International Poetry Award, [[University of Bologna|Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Premio di Poesia Alma Mater - Violani Landi |url=https://site.unibo.it/centro-poesia-contemporanea/it/premi/premio-alma-mater-violani-landi |website=Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna  |access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Arriva la I edizione di UNIVERSI «La ventura delle venture» |url=https://magazine.unibo.it/archivio/2025/06/17/arriva-la-i-edizione-di-universi-la-ventura-delle-venture |website=UNIBO Magazine  |access-date=19 June 2025}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

=== Honorary degrees ===

{{div col}}
* 1996 Doctor of Letters, [[University of Portsmouth]]
* 1996 Honorary Doctorate, [[University of Huddersfield]]
* 2009 Honorary Doctorate, [[Sheffield Hallam University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/honorary-awards/simon-armitage |title=Simon Armitage |publisher=Sheffield Hallam University}}</ref>
* 2011 Doctor of the University, The [[Open University]]
* 2015 Honorary Doctor of Letters, [[University of Leeds]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-33542769 |title=University of Leeds awards poet Simon Armitage honorary degree |work=BBC News |date=15 July 2015}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==Published works==

=== Poetry collections ===

{{div col}}
*''[[Zoom! (poetry book)|Zoom!]]'' ([[Bloodaxe Books]], 1989)
*''[[Kid (book)|Kid]]'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 1992)
*''Xanadu'' ([[Bloodaxe Books]], 1992)
*''[[Book of Matches]]'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 1993)
*''The Dead Sea Poems'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 1995)
*''CloudCuckooLand'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 1997)
*''Killing Time'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 1999)
*''Selected Poems'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2001, contains poems from 6 earlier books)
*''The Universal Home Doctor'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2002)
*''Travelling Songs'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2002)
*''The Shout: Selected Poems'' ([[Harcourt (publisher)|Harcourt]], 2005)
*''Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2006)
*''The Not Dead'' (Pomona Books, 2008)
*''Out of the Blue'' ([[Enitharmon Press]], 2008)
*''Seeing Stars'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2010)
*''[[Stanza Stones Trail|Stanza Stones]]'' ([[Enitharmon Press]], 2013)
*''Paper Aeroplane, Selected Poems 1989–2014'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2014, contains poems from earlier collections)
*''Still – A Poetic Response to Photographs of the Somme Battlefield'' ([[Enitharmon Press]], 2016)
*''The Unaccompanied'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2017)
*''Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2019)
*''[[Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems]]'' ([[Faber and Faber]], 2020, contains poems from earlier collections)
{{div col end}}

=== Translation ===

{{div col}}
*''Homer's Odyssey'' (2006)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/theater/reviews/15homer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss |title=Mad, Wild, Hurling Tales of Odysseus' Journey|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=14 September 2009 |access-date=22 September 2014|last1=Jaworowski |first1=Ken }}</ref>
{{further|English translations of Homer#Armitage}}
*''The Death of King Arthur'' (2012), a translation of the [[Alliterative Morte Arthure|Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'']]<ref name=arthur-faber>{{cite web |title=The Death of King Arthur by Simon Armitage |url=https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571298419-the-death-of-king-arthur/ |website=Faber |access-date=2 April 2024}}</ref>
*''Pearl'' (2017)
*''Sir Gawain and The Green Knight'' (2018) [2007], new revised translation, illustrated by [[Clive Hicks-Jenkins]]
*''The Owl and the Nightingale'' (2021)
{{div col end}}

=== Pamphlets and limited editions ===

{{div col}}
* ''Human Geography ''(Smith/Doorstop Books, 1986)
* ''Distance Between Stars'' (Wide Skirt, 1987)
* ''The Walking Horses'' (Slow Dancer, 1988)
* ''Around Robinson'' (Slow Dancer, 1991)
* ''The Anaesthetist'' (Clarion, Illustrated by Velerii Mishin, 1994)
* ''Five Eleven Ninety Nine'' (Clarion, Illustrated by Toni Goffe, 1995)
* ''Machinery of Grace: A Tribute to [[Michael Donaghy]]'' (Poetry Society, 2005), Contributor
* ''The North Star'' ([[University of Aberdeen]], 2006), Contributor
* ''The Motorway Service Station as a Destination in its Own Right'' (Smith/Doorstop Books, 2010)
* ''In Memory of Water'' – The Stanza Stones poems. (Wood engravings by Hilary Paynter. Fine Press Poetry, 2013)
* ''Considering the Poppy'' – (Wood engravings by Chris Daunt. Fine Press Poetry, 2014)
* ''Waymarkings'' – (Wood engravings by Hilary Paynter. Fine Press Poetry, 2016)
* ''New Cemetery'' (Published by propolis, 2017)
* ''Exit the Known World'' – (Wood engravings by Hilary Paynter. Fine Press Poetry, 2018)
* ''Flit'' – (Poetry and photographs by Simon Armitage. [[Yorkshire Sculpture Park]], 2018, 40th anniversary edition)
* ''Hansel and Gretel'' – (A new narrative poem by Simon Armitage, illustrated by Clive Hicks-Jenkins. Design for Today, 2019)
* ''Gymnasium'' – (Drawings by [[Antony Gormley]]. Fine Press Poetry, 2019)
* ''Tract'' – (Paintings by [[Hughie O'Donoghue]]. Fine Press Poetry, 2021)
* ''The Bed'' – (Painting by [[Alison Watt (Scottish painter)|Alison Watt]]. Fine Press Poetry, 2021)
* ''70 Notices'' – (A celebration to mark 70 years of The [[Peak District]] as a National Park. Frontispiece by David Robertson. Fine Press Poetry, 2021)
* ''[[Queenhood]]'' – (A poem for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Faber, 2022)
* ''Tribute: Three Commemorative Poems'' (Faber, 2022)
* ''LX'' – (A signed limited edition pamphlet to celebrate Armitage's 60th birthday. Faber, 2023)
* ''The Cryosphere'' (Faber, 2023)
* ''Blossomise'' (Faber/National Trust, 2024)
{{div col end}}

===Books===

==== As editor ====

{{div col}}
* ''Penguin Modern Poets: Book 5'' (with Sean O'Brien and [[Tony Harrison]], 1995)
* ''The Penguin Book of Poetry from Britain and Ireland since 1945'' (with [[Robert Crawford (Scottish poet)|Robert Crawford]], 1998)
* ''Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems'' (1999)
* ''[[Ted Hughes]] Poems: Selected by Simon Armitage'' (2000)
* ''The Poetry of Birds'' (with Tim Dee, 2009)
{{div col end}}

====As author====

{{div col}}
* ''Moon Country'' (with [[Glyn Maxwell]], 1996)
* ''Eclipse'' (1997)
* ''All Points North'' (1998)
* ''Mister Heracles After Euripides'' (2000)
* ''Little Green Man'' (2001)
* ''The White Stuff'' (2004)
* ''King Arthur in the East Riding ([[Pocket Penguins]], 2005)''
* ''Jerusalem'' (2005)
* ''The Twilight Readings'' (2008)
* ''Gig: The Life and Times of a Rock-star Fantasist'' (2008)
* ''[[Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way]]'' (2012)
* ''Walking Away: Further Travels with a Troubadour on the South West Coast Path'' (2015)
* ''Mansions in the Sky'' (2017)
* ''Never Good with Horses: Assembled Lyrics'' (2023)
{{div col end}}

==Selected television and radio works==
*''Second Draft from Saga Land'' – six programmes for [[BBC Radio 3]] on [[W. H. Auden]] and [[Louis MacNeice]].
*''Eyes of a Demigod'' – on [[Victor Grayson]] commissioned by BBC Radio 3.
*''The Amherst Myth'' – on [[Emily Dickinson]], for [[BBC Radio 4]].
*''Points of Reference'' – on the history of navigation and orientation, for BBC Radio 4.
*''From Salford to Jericho'' – A verse drama for BBC Radio 4.
*''To Bahia and Beyond'' – Five travelogue features in verse with [[Glyn Maxwell]] from Brazil and the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] for BBC Radio 3.
*''The Bayeux Tapestry'' – A six-part dramatisation, with Geoff Young, for BBC Radio 3.
*''Saturday Night'' (1996) – Century Films/BBC TV
*''A Tree Full of Monkeys'' (2002) – commissioned by BBC Radio 3, with [[Zoviet France]].
*''The Odyssey'' (2004) – A three-part dramatisation for BBC Radio 4.
*''Writing the City'' (2005) – commissioned by BBC Radio 3.
*''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (2010) – BBC documentary<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/74glI1lg1CQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20121030125909/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74glI1lg1CQ&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74glI1lg1CQ|title=Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (BBC Documentary)|work=[[YouTube]]|date=17 March 2011 |access-date=6 February 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*''Gods and Monsters — Homer's Odyssey'' (2010) – BBC documentary
*''The Making of King Arthur'' (2010) – BBC documentary
*''The Pendle Witch Child'' (2011) – BBC documentary, examining the role of Jennet Device in the [[Pendle witches|Pendle Witch Trials]]
*''Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster'' (2011), consisting of poems telling the story of [[Murder of Sophie Lancaster|Sophie Lancaster]]'s life, together with the personal recollections of her mother.
*''The Last Days of Troy (2015)'' – A two-part dramatisation for BBC Radio 4.
*''The Brink (2018)'' – a meditation on the British relationship with Europe in the light of Brexit. For Sky Arts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.skyartsart50.tv/projects/thebrink/|title=Sky Arts Art 50 &#124; 'The Brink' by Simon Armitage CBE|website=Sky Arts Art 50}}</ref>
*''[[The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed]]'' (2020, 2021 and 2023) – BBC Radio 4 series and podcast, three series of 12, 9 and 8 episodes
*''Poet Laureate in the Arctic'' (2023) – BBC Radio 4 four-part series.
*''My Poetry and Other Animals'' (2024–2025) – BBC Radio 4 10-part series.<ref>{{cite web |title=My Poetry and Other Animals |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268jl |website=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=25 December 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[AQA Anthology]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

* [[Ian Gregson (poet)|Ian Gregson]], ''Simon Armitage'', Salt Modern Poets Series: Salt, Cambridge, 2011.
* Jeremy Noel-Tod, "Profile: Simon Armitage". ''Areté'' 4, Winter 2000, pp.&nbsp;31–49.

== External links ==

{{Archival records|title=Simon Armitage Archive}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}

* {{Official website|http://www.simonarmitage.com}}
* {{British council|id=simon-armitage|name=Simon Armitage}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0035516|name=Simon Armitage}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180518200920/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bb32ecc9d Simon Armitage] at the [[British Film Institute]]
* [http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=87 ''Poetry Archive'' Biography, interviews, poems and audio files.]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/jul/29/fiction.poetry1 ''Guardian'' interview (07/2001)]
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/there-goes-rhymin-simon-interview-simon-armitage-1240364.html ''Independent'' Interview Sunday, 21 September 1997] 
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/culture/words/simon_armitage.shtml BBC Interview  (03/2004)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060821235441/http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/speeches.php?t=3 Griffin Poetry Prize 2006 keynote speech, including audio clip] 
* [http://www.sonnets.org/armitage.htm Sonnets.org interview (01/2002)]
<!-- 
     not sure any of the following links fit within External links policy, they should all be moved into the text, or deleted
* {{cite news |title=Simon Armitage: 'It's not poetry, it's a midlife crisis' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/09/simonarmitage |work=The Guardian |date=29 July 2001 |access-date=8 August 2015 |ref=none }}
* {{cite news |title=Simon Armitage: 'I'm quite boyish in my outlook' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/simon-armitage-im-quite-boyish-in-my-outlook-1843591.html |work=The Independent |date=18 December 2009 |access-date=18 December 2009 |ref=none }}
* {{cite news |last=Franks |first=Alan |title=Simon Armitage: 'They're poems because I say they are' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/simon-armitage-theyre-poems-because-i-say-they-are-j6z76psj5lr |access-date=11 July 2015 |work=The Times |date=22 April 2010 |ref=none }}
* {{cite news |last=De Freytas-Tamura |first=Kimiko |title=Simon Armitage, Oxford Poetry Professor, Finds Inspiration in the Mundane |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/world/europe/simon-armitage-oxford-poetry-professor-finds-inspiration-in-the-mundane.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news |access-date=11 July 2015 |work=New York Times |date=10 July 2015 |ref=none }}
* {{cite news |last=Frangoul |first=Anmar |title=The deadly serious poet's society |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/Regulars/article289624.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528072058/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/Regulars/article289624.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 May 2015 |work=The Sunday Times |date=23 May 2010 |ref=none }}
-->

{{Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry}}
{{Poets Laureate of the United Kingdom}}
{{Simon Armitage}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Simon}}
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