“We were brilliant in the sun.” #simonarmitage #20BOS26 Book 30

A short post today to share a recent arrival in the form of another poetry pamphlet from the poet laureate, Simon Armitage. I’ve amassed quite a collection of his books and pamphlets, several of them signed, so when I saw that Faber were reissuing a limited edition of his first ever publication, “Human Geography”, I just couldn’t resist. The original collection was published in 1986 when Armitage was 23 years old, by Smith|Doorstop books, and the 18 Armitage poems took up half of the pamphlet; the other half contained “The Hot Blizzard” by Clare Chapman. Here, Faber have reissued Armitage’s original verses with an introduction by the poet as well as an extra poem, “Painting the Lighthouse”. And despite the 18 original poems being forty years old, they’re recognisably Armitage’s work and make for thoughtful reading. Armitage is an approachable poet; his work is accessible and the variety of his subject matter makes him a joy to read. This is not to imply anything negative about his…