Poet laureate Simon Armitage reads work at Belper Library in live streaming online

Poet laureate Simon Armitage is to visit Derbyshire’s newest library this month.
Poet laureate Simon Armitage will live stream his readings at Belper Library. Photo by Peter James Millson.Poet laureate Simon Armitage will live stream his readings at Belper Library. Photo by Peter James Millson.
Poet laureate Simon Armitage will live stream his readings at Belper Library. Photo by Peter James Millson.

He has launched his national A-Z Libraries Tour in which he is visiting towns and cities representing each letter of the alphabet to give readings from his work.

Belper will represent a place beginning with B after Simon accepted an invitation from Derbyshire County Council.

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Originally planned for last year the tour was postponed because of Covid 19 and this year’s event will be live streamed on April 26, rather than in front of a live audience.

Helen Mort, former Derbyshire poet laureate. Photo by Emma Ledworth.Helen Mort, former Derbyshire poet laureate. Photo by Emma Ledworth.
Helen Mort, former Derbyshire poet laureate. Photo by Emma Ledworth.

Simon will be joined by special guest the award-winning poet Helen Mort, who is the former Derbyshire Poet Laureate. They will both be reading some of their poetry and sharing with the online audience the inspiration behind their work.

Michelle Parker, acting head of libraries at the county council, said: “Hosting the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage on his national tour is a real coup and it’s a double bonus to have our former Derbyshire Poet Laureate there as well. Whilst we would of course prefer it to be a live event we are delighted that it can go ahead.”

Simon said: “My tour celebrates libraries which give so much to our local communities – be those communities big and urban or rural and remote. Libraries have given me so much as well and this is a way of saying thank you. I am looking forward to my visit to Belper as part of this tour”.

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The free event is suitable for ages 11+ and takes place on Monday, April 26, from 4pm to 5pm. Belper Library will close early that day at 1pm to allow for the event to take place following Covid regulations.

Bookings are now open and can be made by visiting www.crowdcast.io/e/belper/register Crowdcast works best with the Google Chrome or Firefox browsers – see tips here: www.simonarmitage.com/library-tour-tips-for-crowdcast/

Simon Armitage is the UK Poet Laureate and was Oxford Professor of Poetry (2015-2019). His numerous accolades include an Ivor Novello Award for song-writing in the BAFTA-winning film 'Feltham Sings' and the 2018 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

He has published more than a dozen collections of poetry, including Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems and his acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight His forthcoming book is A Vertical Art (Faber). He also writes extensively for theatre, television and radio, and is the author of two novels and the non-fiction bestsellers All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. He was appointed Professor of Poetry at Leeds University in 2017.

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Helen Mort has published two poetry collections with Chatto & Windus, Division Street(2013) and No Map Could Show Them (2015). She won the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize for best first collection. Her novel Black Car Burning was published in 2019. She teaches creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and she is also the author of Lake District Trail Running and Never Leave The Dog Behind’ (Vertebrate). Helen is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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