Simon Armitage The New Poet Laureate! By Kirsty Eades
From Charles II's appointment of the first Laureate, John Dryden, in 1688, the role has been awarded to many worthy candidates including the likes of Ted Hughes and William Wordsworth. The Poet Laureate is an expectation more than a requirement, of a contribution of verses for worthy and significant occasions in the United Kingdom. the position?’. Armitage also even admitted that he thought there had been ‘a lot of discussion behind the scenes’ due to the position going to a white man. However, he has stressed of his aims to ‘amplify the voices of writers from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds’. Armitage also said when interviewed by the BBC upon the announcement of his position ‘poetry should respond to climate change’. The environment influencing his work and climate change being such a topical discussion demonstrates his ambition to include relevant subjects and communicate with more people through his poetry.
The Poet Laureate is paid £5,750 annually as well as a ‘butt of sack’ which equates to 600 bottles of Sherry a year to keep them occupied along with the high standard of poetry they are expected to write. Carol Ann Duffy who held the role for 10 years prior to 2019 was the first Scottish woman to be awarded the position demonstrating the huge significant meaning her appointment held. Years ago the role was previously held for very long periods of time however in recent years it has become a fixed ten year period. In 2019, Simon Armitage has been awarded the role after months of deciding! He will therefore take the reigns for the next ten years and will bring his own stamp to the position of Poet Laureate.
Most people will know of Simon Armitage due to his poem “Remains” in the GCSE Poetry anthology which touches upon the theme of guilt and being haunted by taking another man’s life. This disgust and discomfort of killing somebody innocent I think is a moving poem which is hard to forget. Therefore there are high hopes for what Simon Armitage can achieve in his position including his notable aim of creating a National Centre for Poetry and said "I want to celebrate what's best in poetry and build on the work Andrew Motion and Carol Ann Duffy have done over the last two decades in terms of encouraging and identifying talent, particularly among young people, among whom poetry might be a way forward, an outlet.".
Born in 1963, Simon Armitage is an Alumni of Portsmouth University and studied Geography which led to him becoming a Probation Officer in Greater Manchester in 1994; he was appointed Professor of Poetry at Sheffield University. It is due to his range of experiences in many different fields which has enabled Armitage to write about such a range of subjects. Armitage was described as ‘witty and profound' whose work spans sharp observations about modern life and classical myths’ which is accurate as he also told BBC News that poetry is ‘more valuable and more relevant than it’s ever been’.
We look forward to the poetry he releases in the next ten years as Poet Laureate!
However, one question many people are asking is ‘will the position return to the archetype of Poet Laureate or will Armitage make a difference to
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