Poet Laureate entertains at Richmond theatre

THE superb Encore Author Event in Richmond Book Festival featured Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, making his third visit to the Georgian. The Yorkshireman, deftly combining down to earth accessibility and dazzling, erudite wordplay, quickly created a warm rapport with the audience.

Using the device of airline boarding announcements, he opened with 'thank you for waiting, a satirical comment on consumer and class divisions.

Armitage first passed through Richmond in 2010 on the Pennine Way, paying his way with poetry readings. By all accounts, the stretch up to Tan Hill was gruelling and he had little recollection of his first reading at the Georgian that evening. This time he read the beautiful Yellow Rattle, written about the wild flower during the walk.

Background chat and explanation were key. Armitage discussed his work Flit for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, when he watched the unpacking of fragile exhibitions from cases branded with the 'wine glass' symbol. This led into the wonderfully entertaining The Sommelier.

Varied selections included part of his translation of a twelfth century poem The Owl and the Nightingale. This work was discussed in the Radio 4 The Poet Laureate has Gone to His Shed broadcasts during lockdown, where Armitage interviewed famous figures.

Most poems were more rooted in modern life, including the poignant commission The Song Thrush and the Mountain Ash, with a hospital window symbolising broken communication during the Covid pandemic.

The Repair Shop, an allusion to the BBC programme, was the only reference to Armitage’s father, a dominant figure, who died in February. It displayed emotional restraint.

During the Q and A he clarified that the poet’s job is to remain dispassionate in order to create emotion in others, and stated that he avoids “soggy” poems. Concluding with What is the Sea?, the evening was a sheer delight for heart and ear.

Jan Montgomery