Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to visit Colyton Library

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is embarking on a new leg of his 10-year tour of the UK's libraries, which will see him visit Colyton.

Mr Armitage says he was to "celebrate the physical space of libraries and take my work back into places that have given me so much".

Each spring this decade, he will give readings across the UK, from the flagship libraries of the big cities to smaller libraries serving rural and remote communities.

Using the alphabet as a compass, his journey will celebrate the library as one of the great and necessary institutions.

The Friends of Colyton Library in East Devon invited Simon to visit us as part of his 10-year national tour of libraries and are delighted to have beeen chosen as one of eight libraries in the C-D leg of the tour.

The event in Colyton Library on Saturday, March 26, from 3pm to 4pm, will include readings from prize-winning poets from three local schools – Axe Valley Academy, in Axminster, Colyton Grammar School and The Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis.

The young poets will read their work followed by readings by guest poet, Devon born Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, and by Simon Armitage himself.

Jane Dauncey, chair of Friends of Colyton Library, said: "We are so excited that Colyton has been selected as one of the eight libraries to join Simon Armitage in his celebration of UK Libraries. Our theme is 'Our Future, our Planet'."

Numbers in the library itself are limited and by invitation only, but the event will be live streamed to St Andrew's Church in Colyton, so that members of the local community can come together and watch on a large screen.

Tickets are free but must be booked in advance – see www.friendsofcolytonlibrary.co.uk for details or call Sylvia Benton on 07443 534 013.

You can also register to watch live online at home for free at [L]https://www.crowdcast.io/e/colyton[L+]www.crowdcast.io/e/colyton

The church will also have an exhibition of the work of local young poets and artists on an environmental theme. This exhibition will remain in the church for a week after the event.

Mr Armitage says: "My experience of reading and writing began in the village library where I grew up, then in the nearby town library, then in libraries at various places of study and teaching.

:For many people they are an invaluable aspect of everyday life, giving access not just to books but to services, learning, conversation and creative thinking.

"I want to pay my respects to these unique institutions. By planning readings up to a decade in advance I'm being optimistic about the future of our libraries, and challenging those authorities who would consider closing them down.

"It would have been easy to stream these events from my office or garden shed, but at a time when libraries are under threat and have been out of bounds during lockdown, reading from inside their physical structures feels like an act of solidarity – with books, with poetry, and with communities."