Speaker Biography
Simon Armitage is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and an Ivor Novello. He has published over a dozen poetry collections including his latest Blossomise, an instant Sunday Times bestseller. Armitage also writes, records and performs with the band LYR. Never Good with Horses features his song lyrics for the first time. He is also the author of three non-fiction bestsellers: All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. A regular broadcaster, Armitage presents the popular BBC Radio 4 series The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed. He is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds and was elected Oxford Professor of Poetry (2015-2019). Armitage received a CBE in 2010 and was appointed Poet Laureate in 2019.
Host Biography
Nick Barley is Director of the National Poetry Centre, the new Leeds-based organisation which will be the UK headquarters for poetry and the spoken word.
Simon Armitage photo credit Paul Stuart
Nick Barley photo credit Frances Sutton
