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24/07/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Down off the Pedestals

Simon Armitage on the trail of two local poets, Ammon Wrigley and Samuel Laycock.

Growing up in a small West Yorkshire town, Simon Armitage was highly aware of the influence of two local poets, Sam Laycock and Ammon Wrigley. He explores their lives and works.

The nineteenth century witnessed a flourishing of dialect poets in the new industrial centres. Though they were very popular locally, they were typically sneered at by the metropolitan literary establishment, and their reputations have fared badly in the years since. 

Now Simon Armitage sets out to explore the lives and works of two writers whose influence in his Pennine home is felt - Samuel Laycock and Ammon Wrigley. Armitage grew up hearing their poems recited as party pieces, and while he initially wanted to, "get past them" and forge his own reputation, he's now keen to show why they deserve more serious attention from the reading public beyond their home turf. 

Along the way Armitage speaks with musicians who've helped keep the poems alive as songs, and writers such as Glyn Hughes who have long championed the works. Hughes, sadly, has died since the programme was recorded.


Producer: Geoff Bird
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.

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