Exclusive New Author Film: Simon Armitage reads ‘Thank You for Waiting’

After more than a decade, the poet, playwright and Oxford Professor of Poetry Simon Armitage has returned to his trademark contemporary lyricism with his eleventh collection of poetry, The Unaccompanied.

Set against a backdrop of economic recession and social division, at the heart of this collection is the feeling of alienation as a commonplace experience. These new poems document a world on the brink, a world of unreliable seasons and unstable coordinates, where Odysseus stalks the aisles of cut-price supermarkets in search of direction, where the star of Bethlehem rises over industrial Yorkshire, and where alarm bells for ailing communities go unheeded or unheard. The poems are often tinged with melancholy and pathos yet Armitage’s gift for deadpan wit and black humour is always present, as demonstrated in the poem ‘Thank You for Waiting’, which Simon reads in our exclusive film.

Watch: Simon Armitage reads a new poem from The Unaccompanied

Here, Simon reads ‘Thank You for Waiting’, a previously unpublished poem taken from the new collection.

The Unaccompanied is out now from Faber priced £14.99 – buy your copy here

Remember Faber Members can purchase this title for £11.99 – sign up for free here