Join Simon Armitage for an inspiring one hour poetry writing masterclass to celebrate the Festival of Libraries 2023.

For beginners and more experienced writers alike, this is one-off opportunity to write new poetry on the spot under the UK Poet Laureate’s guidance, share what you write and to ask questions.

The event will take place in the Chief Librarians Office at Manchester Central Library. You must be aged 16 or over and booking is essential. If you do get a ticket, please bring something to write with and paper or a notebook.

About Simon Armitage
UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage was born and grew up in West Yorkshire. His numerous awards include the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and an Ivor Novello for song-writing. He has published over a dozen poetry collections, including Magnetic Field: the Marsden Poems. He is also the author of three non-fiction bestsellers: All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. An award-winning dramatist, Armitage’s play The Last Days of Troy was performed at Manchester Royal Exchange. A regular broadcaster, he presents the popular BBC Radio 4’s series The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed. Armitage also writes, records and performs with the ‘ambient post-rock’ band LYR. His new book Never Good with Horses (2023) is the first-ever collection of the Poet Laureate’s lyric output. He is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. www.simonarmitage.com

Please note that this event will be limited to 16 people, and the tickets will be on a first come first served basis.