Review: SIMON ARMITAGE, Latitude Festival

So far, coverage of Latitude Festival has included theatre, music and comedy. At this point, a change of pace was needed. In the Speakeasy, poet Simon Armitage made for some easy (but also hard for others) listening. Reading from The Unaccompanied, this poetry collection explores "a world on the brink".

Blessed with a wicked way with words, Armitage's poems are a cutting examination of the world today. This much was evident early on in his reading of the satiric "Thank You For Waiting". Those four little words are used as a microcosm, to explore the hundreds of ways elitism is ingrained into society. The four minute poem begins with inviting "first class passengers only to board the aircraft", as we make our way down the imaginary seating chart of society. This culminates with "people of little or no consequence. Followed by people operating at a net fiscal loss as people". This produces belly laughs from some and nervous laughter from others, gripping their Waitrose Bag for Life slightly harder.

Other highlights include shorter offerings, which acutely sum up Armitage's sense of the world. "The centuries crawl past, none of them going your way", ends the moving "Nurse at a Bus Stop". In addition to newer material, Armitage pulls a Mumford & Sons and plays some crowd favourites. "You're Beautiful" sees the poet examine the quirks of a relationship from one person's perspective. The lover is beautiful to the speaker, who sees himself as ugly: "I'm ugly for saying "love at first sight" is another form of mistaken identity."

Provoking love, laughter and lulls for thought in equal measure, the poems take on a new life when read out loud. We are granted something more than the book's audience; Armitage guides us through these poems, providing extra context. The nurse is actually inspired by the same nurse he sees waiting for the same bus at the same bus stop at the same time every day. He reads a song which was never meant to be sung. Held in a big folder, the poems are shown before being read to prove that he's "not just riffing!"

It's rare to reduce a tent to silence at Latitude, even more rare to zone out the noise, hustle and bustle of life outside. But Armitage accomplishes this. The audience is utterly enraptured: sitting back relaxing, they just listen to the melodic, soothing sound of his voice. It's wholly communal, as Armitage smiles and relishes this too. After all, "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company".

In a world on the brink, Simon Armitage creates an oasis of calm in a deeply profound reading. If you can't hear his words live, read them.

The Unaccompanied is available to purchase

Photo credit: Jen O'Neill

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