Simon Armitage brings a poet’s voice to contemporary life and to stories that have travelled through centuries. Readers can follow a new collection, a verse translation or poetry spoken in company. His festival year offered all three routes, from a shared conversation among national poets to an ancient epic.
Quick facts
Best known for
Poetry, verse translation and the work of the Poet Laureate
Genre or subject
Poetry and translation
Latest book
Gilgamesh and The Bayeux Tapestry: A Poetic Retelling (both 2026), Faber
Armitage writes poetry, prose and translation, with work for radio, television and the stage alongside collections, novels and non-fiction. He is Poet Laureate and a recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. A reader can meet the work on a page or hear a line carried by a voice; those pleasures run through his writing across forms.
His translations include Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Death of King Arthur. In October 2026, Faber published his verse version of the ancient epic that became a focus of his autumn conversations. Working with an older story gives him another kind of encounter with language, bringing it into present-day English.
Faber also published The Bayeux Tapestry: A Poetic Retelling on 8 October 2026. Together, the two publications extend the strand of his writing that returns to stories with a long life. His official biography also covers radio, documentary and performance writing, alongside the poems and translations readers can take home.
Where to start with their books
New Cemetery
The conversion of a local beauty spot into a municipal graveyard gives this collection its starting point. Choose it if a landscape close to daily life draws you towards poetry; it is also a reading route into the collection that Armitage discussed during his summer festival visit.
Dwell
These poems reimagine the fragile dwellings of living creatures, inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. Start here if the small structures and lives around you catch your attention; the collection lets you approach the poet through the places creatures make for themselves.
Blossomise
The collection celebrates spring blossom while also attending to how quickly it disappears. It includes short haiku and longer poems. Choose it for a seasonal way into Armitage’s work, reading a little at a time and returning to what a brief natural change makes you notice.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
At Edinburgh’s Venue NW on 17 August, Armitage joined Hanan Issa and Peter Mackay for Poetry of the People. The following day, he spoke about New Cemetery in the Spiegeltent.
On 12 October, he and Elif Shafak discussed Gilgamesh on The Cunard Stage at Cheltenham’s Town Hall. His event at Ilkley’s King’s Hall on 17 October also centred on the epic. The spring into autumn of his festival work brought contemporary poetry and translation into different kinds of company, with readers able to follow the subject that held them.
Where to see them next
Simon Armitage is due to appear at Hay Festival on 28 November 2026 for Simon Armitage. Official event and tickets.
Simon Armitage has announced his March 2027 libraries tour. Follow the tour page for participating libraries and dates. 2027 dates and event information.
Plan your trip
Read a poem aloud before travelling, slowly enough to notice where you want to pause. You do not have to work out a single correct interpretation; the words or sounds that stay with you can be the beginning of a question.
If the visit is about a translation, take a passage you want to hear in your head again afterwards. Plan a quiet space in the day to talk or read, and check signing information before carrying a heavy collection. The guides below help you turn the chosen poetry event into a comfortable festival stay.
The 2026 programmes featured Simon Armitage at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Ilkley Literature Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Is there a later 2026 appearance to consider?
His Hay Winter Weekend event is in the next-appearance section above, with its official booking link. Check that page for availability before planning a visit, as a published programme does not guarantee that tickets remain.
Do I need to study the poems before attending?
You can read a little and listen for what catches your attention. A line, image or sound is enough to begin with. Hearing poetry is another way of spending time with it, not an examination in interpretation.
What is a good way to prepare for a translation event?
Spend time with a short passage and notice how it sounds in English. You can bring an interest in the story, the voices or the choices of words without knowing the source language or reading every earlier translation.
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