Simon Armitage Walks O’er Vales and Hills
July 26, 2010
Amongst the favourite poems with our readers in Get Into Reading groups are those by Simon Armitage. Today I discovered that the Yorskhire poet is walking the 264 mile Pennine Way. Not only is he walking (in the wind, rain and, at times, sunshine), he is doing it without a penny. He is getting by on the power of his poetry alone (and the general kindness of the British public), in his words, “it’s basically 264 miles of begging”.
Read about how he’s getting on with his walk on the BBC’s website and more about his project (and forthcoming book about it) on The Independent’s.
One Comment
leave one →
Love Simon Armitage – he’s got a wonderful way with a sonnet and I like the way he often writes poetic conundrums. He also makes brilliant use of assonance so that his off skew themes match the rhyme, both slightly out of step e.g.:
If it snowed and snow fell on the drive,
He took a spade and shoved it to one side.
Seems ordinary but isn’t, if you get me.
Great poet and doesn’t take himself too seriously, not surprised he goes down well with GIR, he does with my CE classes, too.