I recently volunteered with Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath at their event, ‘An Evening with Simon Armitage’, where the Poet Laureate read from his newest release, Blossomise. Though I’m not local to Bath, I visit regularly and have a dear friend at the bookshop who secured the position for me, as well as at a Carol Ann Duffy event in March 2023. So, many thanks to May Driver and the team at Toppings for their plethora of events, volunteering opportunities and continued support in my poetic endeavours.  

 

With doors opening to the public at 6.30PM, the team and I arrived in good time to prepare for the evening. This included stacking the books for pre-signing, setting up the shop and laying out the tickets for customer collection. Shortly after, Armitage himself arrived, reminiscing about when he previously performed at the venue several years prior. He was then offered refreshments and guided to the table where he would sign copies of his newest collection, and he kindly offered to sign any previous publications that Toppings had stocked. It was during this time that we spoke informally about Blossomise as well as his broader life, including his work as a probation officer, university teacher, and like for birdwatching. 

 

As I handed him copies of Blossomise, opened to the correct page to make signing swifter, Armitage expanded on its origins and composition. He explained that the twenty-one poems originally began as ten and then eleven but increased in number as he travelled more and subsequently found more inspiration and content. He also told me that Blossomise was commissioned by the National Trust in collaboration with Faber as part of a larger project to celebrate the coming of spring and the role of nature in human life. It is also, as I interpret it, where his verbification of ‘blossom’ stems from, giving the collection its title.  

 

Many of the poems are haikus or shorter in length, centred around how the arrival of blossom gives hope and shows resilience in a world shifting with the seasons but also in increasing urbanisation. Drawing on the Author’s Notes to elaborate on this, “the dramatic exuberance of blossom after the drabness of winter reminds us of nature’s capacity for survival” (Armitage vi). This endurance and resultant celebration, then, “[gives] definition and dignity to a crucial aspect of the ecosystem, and to give meaning and protection to this yearly extravaganza” (vii). In essence, Blossomise is testament to the strength, cyclicality, and hope that can be found in nature.  

 

Accompanying the poems are lino print illustrations by Angela Harding, which can be found throughout the collection as well as on the front and back page. When I asked Armitage how these illustrations came about, and how much input he had in the designs, he explained that Faber recommended Harding because they thought her style would elevate the collection’s message. The two communicated throughout the project, he added, but Harding largely had creative freedom with making complimentary illustrations. Armitage clearly liked them because they were displayed throughout his reading, where he paused between poems to reference inspirations for particular lines, conversations with Harding and how this translated into the artwork. Though his commentary was frequent, the brevity of each poem and the relevancy of his thoughts meant that they blended seamlessly into the reading, bringing the audience closer to the poems.  

 

Following his 45-minute reading was a 15-minute Audience Q&A, where questions touched upon specific poems in Blossomise but also his experience so far as Poet Laureate, his future plans, and his writing process. Such a variety, I believe, stemmed from Armitage’s openness, which was what led me to make conversation during the pre-performance signing. He even stayed after the session to give personal dedications to those with purchased copies of Blossomise, taking a few moments to speak to each person. When this was over, we thanked him for his time and offered him a taxi to the train station, though he decided to take the short walk there himself.  

 

In all, Armitage’s reading of Blossomise sparked a newfound interest in me for both nature poetry and the haiku form, and I look forward to rereading his collection in the future. Prior to the event, I’d read mostly conversational or body-focused poetry, and wrote generally prose or longer blank verse poems, but Armitage has inspired me to experiment with form and subject. His work resonated with me in an unexplainable way, offering a unique and hyper-specific perspective that I hadn’t before encountered. Naturally, this was heightened by hearing the poems directly from the poet’s mouth, giving them a realism and meaning that I likely wouldn’t have recognised before. It was as though I was there with Armitage, with the speaker of each poem, observing the coming of blossom and soft movement of branches in the wind. So, I give thanks once more to Toppings for having me at the event, and to Simon Armitage for the wonder that is Blossomise. Both have become influences in my reading and writing taste, and I hope they do for you also.

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Blossomise is now available for purchase at all major booksellers. Read more about the collection on Simon Armitage's website at https://www.simonarmitage.com/blossomise/ . This is an independent review and was neither commissioned nor approved by Simon Armitage.

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Read more of Kelsey's work on her website: www.kelseykayedwards.com

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