By Jayne Stead
oVERVIEW
Available: BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds
Creators: Simon Armitage UK’s Poet Laureate since 2019
Publication date: started season 1 in March 2020
Length: 1 hour give or take
SUMMARY
This podcast is a discussion between Simon Armitage the Poet Laurate and a guest. Their work can range from writing novels, stories and poems to song writers/performers and rap artists, ecologists and DJ’s. Armitage is a former probation officer and has also been a DJ and has a unique take on modern life. He writes in his shed in his garden in Marsden in West Yorkshire. He grew up there and has returned to bring up his family and write. This podcast has materialised over lockdown and he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry (he likes a good sherry) and the countryside. He is gentle, witty and careful in his questioning and you feel very much like you are eavesdropping on two learned friends – although it is often the first time he may have met his guest.
thoughts
1. The key to the success of this podcast is Simon Armitage’s style of questioning and ability to go off the subject and follow whimsical, yet interesting digressions from the main discussion.
2. It also has a real eclectic set of guests so far: J K Rowling, Jo Whiley, Johnny Marr and even Prince Charles (I know! Weird right?)
3. I particularly liked his interviews with Maxine Peake and Guy Harvey for their heart and humour. Also the John Tiffany one is excellent as he is also from Marsden and went to the same school. Their reminiscences make you wonder how one small school could produce an award-winning West End/Broadway director AND a Poet Laureate!
4. The creative advice gems that litter these conversations are enlightening for writers and creatives everywhere. It was fascinating to hear JK Rowling talk about the early days of Harry Potter as well as how embarrassing she finds her own attempts at poetry. The poet Imtiaz Darker also has great advice on writing.
5. It is what I call a dip in podcast – I just look for the guests I am curious about and who are more likely to discuss writing and the creative process and choose those.
RECOMMENDATION: 9/10 (I don’t like ALL the guest choices!)
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