Simon Armitage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Simon Armitage CBE, FRSL
Armitage in September 2019
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 May 2019
Monarch	Elizabeth II Charles III
Preceded by	Carol Ann Duffy
Personal details
Born	Simon Robert Armitage (1963-05-26) 26 May 1963 (age 62) Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Spouses	Alison Tootell (div.) Sue Roberts
Children	1
Residences	Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England
Education	Colne Valley High School
Alma mater	Portsmouth Polytechnic University of Manchester
Occupation	Poet, playwright, novelist, singer

Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is a famous English poet, playwright, and novelist. On 10 May 2019, he was given the special role of Poet Laureate, which means he is the official poet for the country. He is also a professor of poetry at the University of Leeds.

Armitage is known for writing in a way that is easy to understand, often with a touch of dry Yorkshire humor. Many of his poems are about his home in West Yorkshire. He has also translated classic stories like the Odyssey and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight into modern English. Besides poetry, he has written travel books and even performs music with his band.

Early Life and School Days

Simon Armitage was born in Huddersfield, England, and grew up in the village of Marsden. His father, Peter, was a probation officer and firefighter who also loved to write plays.

Armitage wrote his first poem for a school assignment when he was just 10 years old. After high school, he studied geography at Portsmouth Polytechnic. He later went to the University of Manchester for his master's degree.

For a while, he couldn't find a job, so he decided to become a probation officer, just like his father. He worked in this job until 1994, but during this time, he started to take writing poetry very seriously.

A Career in Poetry and Teaching

Armitage in 2009

Armitage began to teach creative writing at universities like the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield. He also made many TV and radio shows about literature, history, and travel for the BBC.

In 2015, he was chosen for the important role of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford. Then, in 2019, he became the Poet Laureate, a position he will hold for ten years. As part of his duties, he writes poems for important national events.

Armitage at the Hay on Wye Festival in June 2023

Writing Style and Famous Works

Armitage in 2015

Armitage's first poetry book, Zoom!, was published in 1989. His poems are known for being realistic and accessible, meaning they are easy for many people to connect with. His work is often studied by students in the UK for their GCSE English exams.

One of his most famous projects is the Stanza Stones Trail. He wrote six poems that were carved into stones along a 47-mile path in the Pennine mountains. This created a unique journey where people can discover poetry in nature.

He has also written poems for special occasions. For National Poetry Day in 2020, he wrote "Something clicked" about life during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, he wrote a poem called "Balancing Act" that was carved into a gateway at Brimham Rocks in North Yorkshire.

Poems as Poet Laureate

As the nation's poet, Armitage has written about many important moments.

• Space and Science: His first poem as laureate was "Conquistadors," celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing. He also wrote poems for the Royal Astronomical Society and for the naming of the research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough.
• Royal Events: He wrote "The Patriarchs – An Elegy" for the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021. For Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, he wrote "Queenhood", and after her death, he wrote "Floral Tribute." For the coronation of King Charles III, he wrote "An Unexpected Guest."
• National Moments: During the COVID-19 lockdown, he wrote poems like "Lockdown" and "Still Life" to capture how people were feeling. In 2022, he wrote "Resistance" in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The Laureate's Library Tour

In 2019, Armitage announced a special project: a ten-year tour of libraries across the United Kingdom. Each year, he visits libraries with names starting with a different letter of the alphabet, from A to Z.

The tour began in 2021. He has visited libraries in places like Aberdeen, Bootle, Carmarthen, and Exeter. At each stop, he gives a poetry reading, often with a local guest poet. The goal of the tour is to celebrate libraries and bring poetry to communities all over the country. By 2025, he had completed the "L" and "M" legs of his tour, visiting libraries in places like Liskeard and Belfast.

Other Creative Work

Besides writing, Armitage is also involved in music and theatre. He is the lead singer of a band called LYR (Land Yacht Regatta), which released its first album in 2020. He has also written several plays, including a version of the Greek myth The Last Days of Troy, which was performed at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London.

He has hosted many radio shows and podcasts for the BBC. In his popular podcast, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed, he invites guests to talk with him in his garden shed.

Personal Life

Armitage lives in the Holme Valley in West Yorkshire, not far from where he grew up. He is married to radio producer Sue Roberts, and they have a daughter named Emmeline, who is also a talented poet and performer.

He is a big fan of his local football team, Huddersfield Town, and also enjoys birdwatching.

Awards and Honours

Simon Armitage has received many awards for his work. Here are a few of them:

• 1993: Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year
• 2010: Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to poetry
• 2017: PEN Award for Poetry in Translation for his translation of the poem Pearl
• 2018: Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
• 2019: Appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom

Selected Published Works

Poetry Collections

• Zoom! (1989)
• Kid (1992)
• Book of Matches (1993)
• The Dead Sea Poems (1995)
• The Universal Home Doctor (2002)
• Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid (2006)
• Seeing Stars (2010)
• The Unaccompanied (2017)
• Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems (2020)

Translations

• Homer's Odyssey (2006)
• The Death of King Arthur (2012)
• Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (2018)
• The Owl and the Nightingale (2021)

Books for Young Readers and Adults

• All Points North (1998)
• Little Green Man (2001)
• The White Stuff (2004)
• Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way (2012)
• Walking Away (2015)

See also

In Spanish: Simon Armitage para niños

• AQA Anthology