A Level English pupils enjoyed an evening with Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage

A Level English pupils enjoyed an evening with Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage...

A Level English literature pupils were thrilled to see our Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, speak at St. Mary’s Church, Bruton as part of his Poet Laureate tour. It was so interesting to hear about the history behind a number of his poems; we were also fortunate to hear a poem that has yet to be published. At the end, I was lucky enough to have a chance to chat to Simon Armitage and also get a few selfies signed which were taken at the GCSE Poetry Live event back in 2023! Overall, it was a brilliant night for the A Level English Literature pupils and a great chance to hear the poetry that we have studied in real time.

Alexina, U6^thForm, Priory House

I had the incredible opportunity to attend a live reading by Simon Armitage, the current Poet Laureate of the UK. Going into the event, I hadn't really read much of his poetry before; however, by the end of the evening, I was captivated by his unique style and the way he brought his poetry to life. Armitage read from a range of poems, and I found it incredible how his words flowed. Some of his poems had a more conversational, laid-back tone, and others were more reflective and delved deeper into themes. Each theme was different with every poem. He made his poetry feel relatable, even with more serious topics. He intertwined humour with almost every poem, which had the audience laughing along, and his performance reflected his natural talent at connecting with people through his work, even like me, who was new to his poetry. 

During the evening, there was a chance for a Q&A, and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to ask him one of my own questions, I asked, "As the Poet Laureate, is there any form or type of poetry you wouldn’t want to write?" He took a moment to think, and I think ultimately found the question quite difficult to answer, he mentioned that he values the freedom to explore ideas in a way which feels natural, rather than forcing poetry into a particular structure. The evening left me with a newfound appreciation for poetry, especially for Simon Armitage's, and left me eager to read more of his work in the future. 

Alexandra - U6^th Form, Arion House

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