Simon Armitage CBE, National Poet Laureate, has a long-standing relationship with YSP and gave his first poetry reading at Bretton Hall college in 1987. His publication Flit was written during a residency at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2017, exploring nature and landscape through redefining the park as Ysp, ‘a small mid European state’. Continuously inspired by northern scenery and countryside, Armitage wrote 70 notices in 2021 as a commission for the Off the Shelf Festival to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Peak District National Park. He most recently published Resistance, a poem about the invasion of Ukraine, written in solidarity with those under fire.

Michael Longley CBE is a highly-acclaimed Irish poet who has received the Whitbread Poetry Prize, T. S. Eliot Prize, Hawthornden Prize and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Michael lives in Belfast, but much of his work is inspired by the natural world, and his 'soul landscape' is Carrigskeewaun In County Mayo. He was the Ireland Professor of Poetry, a cross-border post, from 2007 to 2010, and was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize in 2017. Michael's poetry also draws on his appreciation of art. The epigraph to his most recent collection, The Candlelight Master, Is a quotation from Joan Miró. Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the perfect location for this very special event.

Following the event there will be a drinks reception and book signing with the poets.

Venue

YSP Centre

Please let us know if you have any additional or accessibility requirements in advance so we can arrange support.

Tickets

We are committed to providing access for as many people as possible and have a limited number of free tickets available for those who would otherwise be unable to attend. Please note this is on a trust basis and you will not be required to provide additional details to access these tickets. We look forward to welcoming you to YSP.