The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

Julie Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington in Lancashire and currently lives within a short drive of Simon Armitage's shed over the hills. She has won many awards for her acting performances and is well-known for having played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street for years - until something Simon did made her rethink what she was doing and take the bold step to leave. Regular TV roles in series such as Cucumber, Happy Valley and Broadchurch followed along with being able to take on work in theatres such as The Royal Exchange in Manchester. Their lively conversation passes from the business of writing, through a discussion of accents, to treading the boards, and starting a theatre company. Produced by Susan Roberts

Glyn Maxwell grew up in Welwyn Garden City, which is where his conversation with Simon Armitage in the shed begins. His mother was in the original stage production of Under Milk Wood, so the young Maxwell was soon staging his own plays in the garden of his parents' house. Simon attended the first of these. They soon found themselves travelling together to make radio programmes and to write new poetry. Iceland came first, followed by the more challenging environment of the Amazon rainforest. Join them in the shed as they look back on those times and also look forward to what's coming next, including eyeing up the garden around the shed as a possible site for a new drama... Produced by Susan Roberts

Olive Senior gets the prize as the guest who has travelled the furthest to join Simon Armitage in his writing shed in West Yorkshire. Born in rural Jamaica in Cockpit County, Olive currently lives in Toronto, Canada. At 19 she joined the staff of the Jamaican Gleaner, the main newspaper, where she interviewed visiting celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor.Poet, novelist, short story and non-fiction writer Olive says she has read everything that comes in front of her all her life. Her latest collection, Hurricane, references a weather hazard that all Jamaicans have to live with. She left Jamaica after Hurricane Gilbert hit the Island in 1988. Growing up surrounded by books written by British writers, Olive discusses her love-hate relationship with Dickens, and following the death of Queen Elizabeth, a much-loved monarch in Jamaica, ponders the future relationship between the monarchy and Commonwealth countries.Produced by Susan Roberts

Loyle Carner talks to Simon Armitage in his own creative 'shed' - Hackney Road studios in London where he spend much of lockdown writing and also recorded his latest acclaimed album Hugo. Their conversation ranges from writing lyrics and poetry, to family and fatherhood , cooking and creating genreless music. Chilli Con Carner is a cooking school Loyle runs for children with ADHD , something close to his heart as he has a diagnosis for both ADHD and dyslexia . His debut album Yesterday's Gone released in 2017, was nominated for the Mercury Prize. He gives his mother Jean airtime here to recite a poem she's written about her eldest son. His second - Not Waving but Drowning - the title of a poem by Stevie Smith , continues to show his love of poetry. Becoming a father himself in 2020 comes into the conversation along with the importance of his musician step-father as a guiding influence, and the cultural significance of food growing up especially the cuisine of Guyana - home to his birth father.Produced by Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink, waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills, he's been working on a new kind of poem he's invented - the Flyku - inspired by the moths and butterflies he sees around him. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about creativity, music, art, sheds, music, poetry and the countryside.This week, poet, songwriter, comedienne and TV presenter Pam Ayres joins Simon in the shed. Their conversation ranges from Pam's first TV appearance on Opportunity Knocks in the '70s, to her love of performing to live audiences, writing her latest book of poems, her passion for wildlife and nature and her latest TV series The Cotswolds and Beyond with Pam Ayres.Produced by Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink , waiting for inspiration to strike, our current poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills, he's been working on a new kind of poem he's invented - the Flyku - inspired by the moths and butterflies he sees around him. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about creativity, music, art, sheds, music, poetry and the countryside.This week Simon is joined by the composer and conductor Simon Dobson who is particularly noted for his brass band compositions. Their discussion takes in growing up in Cornwall in a brass banding family, fitting in at the Royal College of Music, tattoos and piercings, sell out- shows with rock and metal bands and composing one of his best-known pieces based on the Penlee lifeboat disaster Produced by Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink, waiting for inspiration to strike, our current poet laureate, Simon Armitage, has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills, he's been working on a new kind of poem he's invented - the Flyku - inspired by the moths and butterflies he sees around him. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about creativity, music, art, sheds, music, poetry and the countryside.This week, writer, actress and stand-up comedian Lucy Beaumont joins Simon in the shed. Their conversation ranges from the differences in their Yorkshire accents - Lucy grew up in Hull, Simon in the village of Marsden, to writing comedy for TV and radio, appearing on panel shows and working with her husband Jon Richardson on their reality show Meet the Richardsons. Produced by Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink , waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills, he's been working on a new kind of poem he's invented - the Flyku - inspired by the moths and butterflies he sees around him. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about creativity, music, art, sheds, music, poetry and the countryside.To kick of the new series, Sir Ian McKellen, whose acting career spans seven decades joins Simon to talk about everything from his early childhood in Wigan , creating the character of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, remembering Shakespearian lines and getting an Elvish tattoo Produced by Susan Roberts

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage talks to guests about life, creativity and music in his shed

For a special finale to the current series, Simon Armitage travels to Wales to talk to HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales in his Welsh home, Llwynywermod, in Llandovery. Swapping his shed in the Pennines for a barn beside the Brecon Beacons, Simon weaves the conversation around themes of creativity, inspiration and nature. He speaks to The Prince of Wales about the flora and fauna of their surroundings, his passion for conservation, the music of Wagner, and the former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. At one point, the doors of the big barn are thrown open and Prince Charles takes Simon through a series of hay meadows that surround the former farm, pointing out the trees that have been planted since he took over the property, including the maple trees used to line the aisle of Westminster Abbey for Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton.

Sabrina Verjee works as a vet in The Lake District., but she is also a champion fell runner. She has recently has broken the Wainwrights record, successfully completing all of Cumbria’s 214 peaks, a 325 mile route in 5 days 23 hours 49 minutes. The feat involves 36,000m of ascent - equivalent to climbing Everest four times and includes includes Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak. In summer 2010 Simon Armitage decided to walk the Pennine Way. The challenging 256-mile route is usually approached from south to north, from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm, the other side of the Scottish border. He resolved to tackle it the other way round. Crossing the beautiful and bleak terrain, across lonely fells and into the howling wind, he was described at the time as the Eeyore of the walking world. Sabrina holds the record for the fastest female completion of the Pennine Way, so there's plenty of stories to share and anecdotes to tell.Produced by Susan Roberts

John Tiffany a multi award-winning theatre director is from the same village in West Yorkshire as Simon Armitage. They both grew up watching their parents in amateur dramatic shows in the Marsden Parochial Hall, but it was a chance trip to a professional production years later that turned John's attentions away from medical school and back to the stage. He's the person behind some of the most acclaimed theatrical productions of the last two decades, including Pinocchio at The National Theatre, Road at the Royal Court, the smash hit Broadway musical Once, the National Theatre of Scotland's Black Watch and more recently, the hottest ticket in the West End, The Cursed Child. His shows regularly achieve both critical and popular acclaim, an extremely important factor in his work. In the shed the conversation drifts from what makes a good director to what makes a good joke - and there are plenty of them! From fathers to future plans and from creativity to the classroom, where John has chosen to give something back. Produced by Susan Roberts

Gillian Burke is best known to us as a presenter of the 'Watch' television series - Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch .She talks to Simon Armitage about her childhood in Kenya where she had a hands-on experience of wildlife, running barefoot outside her house searching for insects . Her love of conservation was inspired by her mother who worked in Nairobi for the UN on environmental projects . From the natural world to a love of Cornwall, along the way their conversation takes in deep sea diving and gospel singing .Produced by Susan Roberts

Jo Whiley tells of her unsure beginnings in the world of broadcasting when she comes to the shed this week. A chance conversation with a lecturer when she was at university led to a job on BBC Radio Sussex' Turn It Up, giving her the chance to attend gigs and interview musicians. Since then she has presented many music shows on national BBC Radio networks. She's also known for her strong connection with The Glastonbury Festival and for her live DJ sets. The conversation in the shed takes in her love of gardening and her campaign to get vaccinations for those with learning disabilities following the admission to hospital of her sister Frances following an outbreak of coronavirus in her care home. Produced by Susan Roberts

Joanne Rowling, known as JK Rowling, is known globally for writing one of the best selling book series in history. Harry Potter and his classmates now have their firm place in the collective imagination of a generation of readers. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith.In the shed, Jo Rowling discusses the joys and the pains of writing with fellow author Simon Armitage, explaining how she picked up a pen to start again after the huge success of her first series. She discusses myths and the truths that have grown up around the books, including the idea that she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London. Jo brings a very special 'show and tell' into the shed when she gives Simon the chance to dip into her very first notebooks, never before shown publicly, which she used to collect early ideas that might end up in a first Potter book, including the names of the pupils in Harry's class. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997. There were six further books in the series, of which the last was released in 2007. Since then, Jo has written several books for adult readers: The Casual Vacancy (2012) and - under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith - the crime-fiction Cormoran Strike series. She has lived a "rags to riches" life in which she progressed from living on benefits to being one of the best- selling writers of all time, giving away much of her earnings to charity. Produced by Susan Roberts

Poet Imtiaz Dharker was born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Her family moved to Glasgow when she was less than one year old. A fine artist and film maker, she has won the Queen’s Gold Medal for her poetry. Seen as one of Britain's most inspirational poets, she has been heavily involved for many years in Poetry Live, an organisation bringing poetry to school students which was set up by her late husband. She describes herself as a "Scottish Muslim Calvinist" adopted by India and married into Wales. Her poems talk about journeys both geographical and cultural displacement, which she also discusses with her friend and fellow poet Simon Armitage along with pomegranates, Mumbai and hand made paper. Producer Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, this summer he's working on a set of haikus inspired by the landscape around him and the people who drop by. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry, music and the countryside. His guest this week Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess, came to public attention though the television series Our Yorkshire Farm. Ravenseat Farm in North Yorkshire is home to Amanda, her husband and her nine children. Having grown up very close to the location of Simon's shed, the conversation ranges from shared memories of growing up in Huddersfield and a love of the Marsden Hills to the business of running a sheep farm and the joy of the hay meadow at this time of year.Produced by Susan Roberts

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, this summer he's working on a set of haikus inspired by the landscape around him and the people who drop by. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry, music and the countryside. To kick off the new series Johnny Marr, who first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths, takes the trip over the Pennines from Manchester to visit the shed, along with his new twelve-string guitar. In a conversation punctuated by snatches of Smiths songs, Johnny Marr talks about his life in music and gives the Poet Laureate, a huge fan of The Smiths, a private run-through of chord sequences from his back catalogue.Producer Susan Roberts

The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage returns for a second series of his podcast.From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, this summer he's working on a set of haikus inspired by the landscape around him and the people who drop by. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.“For too long I’ve been in the shed on my own, writing haiku, staring intensely at flowers and clouds, so I’m thrilled to be finally throwing back the door, dusting down the spare chair and sharing real live conversation with clever and creative people” – Simon Armitage.Guitarist Johnny Marr, accompanied by his 12-string acoustic, is Simon’s first guest. Later in the series the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen, West End theatre director John Tiffany, broadcaster, DJ and gardener Jo Whiley, author J.K. Rowling and poet Imtiaz Dharker all pay Simon a visit.Produced by Sue Roberts.

The Poet Laureate has gone to his shed on his own this week. Simon Armitage can't ask any guests to join him in his writing shed in West Yorkshire due to the Coronavirus. So he sits in the moonlight hoping to catch an owl in the garden to inspire his writing, and to think about the world beyond as he approaches the end of his translation of the medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale. It's a beautifully still night. Poetry, contemplation, storytelling - with a few jokes along the way - and a few musical instruments to charm the owls out of the trees.