Poet laureate Simon Armitage on Taylor Swift, writing for the queen, and his favourite Cork band
UK poet laureate Simon Armitage reads in Cork on Saturday. Picture: Paul Stuart
It is a measure of Simon Armitage’s dedication to his work — and indeed all aspects of his life — that he has given up time from a rare holiday to do an interview with the Irish Examiner on Zoom. There is a delicious irony in the fact that the name of the platform hosting our chat is also the title of his first collection of poetry. Yorkshire-born Armitage wrote Zoom! when he was employed as a probation officer and it was hailed as an instant classic on its release in 1989.
Thirty-five years on, Armitage, who will appear at the Cork International Poetry Festival on Saturday, has numerous collections under his belt and also holds the British title of poet laureate. Not to mention his other endeavours as a lecturer, broadcaster, DJ, band member, playwright and novelist. What does he think when he looks back at his first collection and the start of what would be such a creatively productive life and career?
