Simon Armitage Reading & Conversation

Join us for an evening with Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate and University of Leeds Professor of Poetry. Simon will read poems from across his work, including his latest books Gilgamesh: A New Verse Translation, Blossomise, Dwell, and New Cemetery. In conversation with Kimberly Campanello, Director of Poetry@Leeds, he will explore the role of the natural environment in his poems and the various environments in which poetry is written and shared. This event is hosted by Poetry@Leeds, the University’s hub for research, impact and teaching in poetry, in collaboration with the National Poetry Centre. 

BIO Simon Armitage 

Simon Armitage was born and grew up in West Yorkshire. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. He has published over a dozen poetry collections, including two illustrated Sunday Times bestsellers, Blossomise and Dwell. His latest major poetry book New Cemetery is out now. Armitage also writes, records and performs with the band LYR and has received an Ivor Novello Award for his song writing. His book Never Good with Horses features his song lyrics for the first time and celebrates his ear for the music of language.

He is the author of two novels and three non-fiction bestsellers: All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. A regular broadcaster, who also writes for television and radio, Armitage presented the popular BBC Radio 4 series The Poet Laureate Has Gone to his Shed and, more recently, My Poetry and Other Animals. An award-winning dramatist, his plays The Last Days of Troy and a contemporary spin on Hansel and Gretel were performed at Shakespeare's Globe. A Vertical Art brings together the vibrant and engaging lectures from his tenure as Oxford Professor of Poetry (2015-2019). Armitage is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 2019. 

BIO Kimberly Campanello 

Kimberly Campanello’s most recent poetry collection An Interesting Detail was published by Bloomsbury Poetry in April. Her debut novel Use the Words You Have is the inaugural title from Somesuch Editions, the imprint of BAFTA and Oscar-winning production company Somesuch. She is an inaugural Markievicz Award winner from Ireland's Arts Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Extracts from her work-in-progress, This Knot: A New Version of Dante’s Commedia with the Poet K, have appeared in magazines including The Long Poem Magazine, Poetry Ireland Review, and Notre Dame Review. She was born in Elkhart, Indiana, and is Professor of Poetry and Director of Poetry@Leeds at the University of Leeds.