Poet Laureate’s backing for return of an old friend

IT all started last October with a letter to the Examiner from Anne Broadbent, of Honley. And today Poetry Corner makes a return to the pages of the Examiner – with an personal message of support from none other than the Poet Laureate, Marsden’s Simon Armitage.

Anne wrote to the Examiner saying in the midst of “trials, tribulations and uncertainty” – remember Brexit? – that now (then) might be a good time to revive a “little jewel.”

Huddersfield was once renowned as the ‘Poetry Capital of the North’ – and not many towns can claim the Poet Laureate as one of their own.

We published Anne’s letter and gave Poetry Corner its own little spot on the Feedback page. As soon as we did so, we tapped into a rich seam of talent just waiting to be heard.

The “trials, tribulations and uncertainty” of October seem light years away now as coronavirus sweeps the world.

Over the last two or three weeks we’ve been inundated with poetry. It seems people turn to poetry in times of crisis. Indeed there never were such times.

Last year Marsden-born Simon was appointed to the historic office, the 21st Poet Laureate in 350 years.

Simon has kindly granted the Examiner permission to publish his latest poem ‘Lockdown’ to relaunch Poetry Corner.

In a personal message Simon said: “I’ve heard from a great many people that they’ve been turning to poetry over these past few weeks.

“It doesn’t surprise me. Poetry describes the inner landscape and the world within us, a world of thoughts and feelings, and that’s where most of us have been spending a lot of time, unable to go out and about in the usual way.

“So I’m really pleased that Poetry Corner is making a comeback in the Huddersfield Examiner, a corner where people can exchange detailed and considered acts of language, either as writers or as readers.

“My own contribution is the poem ‘Lockdown,’ which starts in the plague-ridden village of Eyam in Derbyshire and moves towards a more hopeful conclusion, with a man sending word to his wife in the Himalayas on a passing cloud, courtesy of the ancient India poem the Meghaduta.

“Communication is everything when contact is so limited and so difficult. It’s important we keep talking to each other, and poetry has always been a reliable and resourceful messenger.”

All contributions are welcomed but, unfortunately, we can only accept poems by e-mail. Please send them to martin.shaw@examiner. co.uk