The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

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Poet Laureate Simon Armitage talks to guests about life, language and music in his shed.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a former probation officer, DJ and poet celebrated for his witty and profound take on modern life. He writes in the shed in his garden, and in this podcast he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.

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The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed: Jackie Kay

Jackie Kay

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Jackie Kay, poet, novelist and playwright, joins Simon Armitage in his shed.

Scottish Makar Jackie Kay joins poet Laureate Simon Armitage to reminisce about their first tour as New Generation poets 30 years ago.

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, he scratches away at his reworking of the comic medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale. 

Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, music, art, sheds, sherry, owls, nightingales and to throw light on some of the poem's internal themes. Jackie Kay, who first shared a stage with Simon 30 years ago on the New Generation poetry tour reminisces about those first readings as well a sharing their current experiences of holding the highest positions in poetry - Jackie as the Scottish Makar and Simon as the Poet Laureate. The conversation ranges far and wide as these two friends look back on their writing lives.

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The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

Jackie Kay

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