King Arthur in the East Riding

by Simon Armitage

A brilliant selection of five essays from Simon Armitage's acclaimed book All Points North, published by Penguin in 1998.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Simon Armitage, whose The Shout was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, has published ten volumes of poetry and has received numerous honors for his work. He was appointed UK Poet Laureate in 2019

Armitage's poetry collections include Book of Matches (1993) and The Dead Sea Poems (1995). He has written two novels, Little Green Man (2001) and The White Stuff (2004), as well as All Points North (1998), a collection of essays on the north of England. He has produced a dramatised version of Homer's Odyssey and a collection of poetry entitled Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid (which was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize), both of which were published in July 2006. Many of Armitage's poems appear in the AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) GCSE syllabus for English Literature in the United Kingdom. These include "Homecoming", "November", "Kid", "Hitcher", and a selection of poems from Book of Matches, most notably of these "Mother any distance...". His writing is characterised by a dry Yorkshire wit combined with "an accessible, realist style and critical seriousness."

Reviews

[Antonomasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little set of anecdotes and reflections about Yorkshire (plus a Yorkshire Post Readers' daytrip to Iceland) which make me sure I want to read the full length book All Points North.

As he is on the radio, Armitage is by turns down-to-earth, witty, and moving.

This is one of the very few books outside the Choose Your Own Adventure series written in the second person. It's a curious device - on one hand it can make the narrative more vivid, but on the other it's odd, as these are the writer's particular personal experiences which can't always be made to sound universal.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have got a spare hour or so you could do a lot worse than read this book.

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon Armitage depicts aspects of Yorkshire life in five of his essays. He tells memorably about their village's pantomime which was invited to be performed in another town - this outing ensures the reference to King Arthur in the title of the collection. There is also a day trip to Iceland with his mother, and a Yorkshire Christmas experience. Excellent descriptions and illuminating insights into situations and people - a lovely bit of armchair travel.

Simon Armitage lê sy insig in enkele aspekte van die lewe in Yorkshire bloot in hierdie vyf essays: hul dorp se pantomime word in 'n ander dorp opgevoer; hy en sy ma reis Ysland toe vir 'n daguitstappie; hy beleef 'n Kersdiens vir kinders in die plaaslike kerk. 'n Boeiende blik op 'n nuwe landskap, in woorde vasgevang deur 'n gewikste woordsmid.

[Ancestral Gaidheal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I'd expected from Simon Armitage; a series of observations, not necessarily in poetic form but presented using his unique way with words.

I just was not sure what to make of it all.