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Simon Armitage is the current national Poet Laureate. He was born and grew up in West Yorkshire and is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the PEN Prize for Translation. He has published over a dozen poetry collections, including Magnetic Field, and acclaimed medieval translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Owl and the Nightingale. He is the author of two novels and three non-fiction bestsellers: All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away.
Simon will be discussing the ambitious initiatives he has pioneered as Poet Laureate including the establishment of the Laurel Prize – an annual award for the best collection of environmental poetry to highlight the climate crisis. Simon will also be reading from his own poetry and his latest work: The Owl and the Nightingale.
