Dwell

by Simon Armitage

This gorgeously illustrated collection of poems illuminates and reimagines the ingenious, fragile dwellings of the living creatures around us.


Poet Laureate Simon Armitage was inspired to write these poems by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, an ambitious restoration project where history and mystery coexist. The reawakened landscape with its woods, meadows and 'jungle' offers a bustling, fertile realm for all sorts of creatures to inhabit. Armitage uses elements of riddle and folklore to animate a series of the 'twig-and-leaf crow's-nest squat' of a squirrel's drey, a beaver lodge's 'spillikin stave church' and a hive's 'reactor core'. Distinctions between human and animal, natural and cultivated, are blurred, emphasising commonality and creating a vibrant account of 'non-stop stop-motion life'.

Dwell warns of the fragility of these spaces and their dwellers, exposed to relentless and sadly familiar environmental threats. Just as a garden provides refuge for wildlife, so do these intricate poems offer lasting homes to those who dwell within their lines.


This edition is beautifully illustrated by Beth Munro.


'These are poems full of a winning, pleasurable charm.' Guardian Best Recent Poetry

Genres: Poetry, Nature, Nonfiction

60 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2025

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

[Matthew Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new and beautiful little illustrated collection from Armitage with the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall as his muse. Some as short as "Web" ('Abseiling silk threads, / spiders darn holes in the hedge, / trampolines of death') and others spanning a few pages, it has a nice mix. One or two didn't sit right with me because it felt almost like Armitage trying to stay hyper-contemporary with his language (though he's only 62), with lines like, '(lol winking face emoji)'; they didn't quite fit the natural beauty of the rest of the collection, but maybe he was attempting to make a strong contrast between the digital and the natural. The best poem, in my opinion, was "Sett":

Imagine a badger moving past human things,
crossing the stream on stepping stones
then climbing the steps to the gravel path,
the treads and risers exactly the wrong gauge
for its low-slung frame and footstool legs.
And then on the groomed lawn by the big house
pronging the soil for grubs, its hippy coat
silvered by porch lights and carriage lamps.
It passes the bee boles without looking up,
rounds the fluted plinth of a sundial
telling the wrong time under a fat moon.
Imagine it standing up like a toddler to lap
from the bird bath, clocking its own burglar's face
in the French windows, think of it shuffling along
through the melon yard where beaver-tailed glass
distils dew into cast iron gutters and butts,
notice its long snout hoovering smells
by the bins, stare at its sticky tongue
blotting woodlice, earwigs and snails
from the compost heap and summerhouse floor.
Picture its shaving-brush rump dusting the farm gate.
In the walled garden its shadow scuttles
brick to brick, then it scrabbles and fossicks
below the elephant ears in the rhubarb patch.
With the night shift over it goes to ground
in blind tunnels hung with wiry roots
under roads, parks, floorboards and footings,
stashes itself in deep starless holes with its clan.
In the warm dark the cubs rise like loaves.

Lovely.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short book of poems. My favourite was Cote. The dwelling of the Dove.

I had to read this again, my favourite this time was Insect Hotel, it made me smile. Also I must add, lovely illustrations.

[Katrina Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 A delightful yet short collection of poems inspired by Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan. Beautiful, colourful illustrations, playful riddles and a variety of wildlife characters make this a joy to read.
Leading you to peer into nests and under foliage, Simon takes the reader to all the corners of the garden where species dwell, sleep and play. The poems bring the garden and its inhabitants to life .

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…

…that drawings can often put such a beautiful spin in a poetry book. This one has made me think a bit more of Armitage

[Shaylah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read of animals, nature, and its beauty, described in various poems and short stories.

[Becks11 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poetry isnt my thing and I couldnt connect with the words for what it was describing

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent a delightful evening reading through this book. In many ways, it was reminiscent of Blossomise (which I also loved), with its beautiful illustrations, a focus on nature, and a number of haikus. A number of poems were quite witty and humorous, especially Insect Hotel - so clever, so good!!

[Gaynor E R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, hopeful, amusing but with a serious undertone focused on climate change and our declining respect and appreciation for the natural world. Armitage at his best and in his comfort zone, using what is around us to highlight what really matters.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joy from start to finish. Each poem has an identity of its own and a rhythm that makes sense for each animal or insect. Insect Hotel is a superb and so well observed piece of writing that it instantly became one of my favourite poems and read aloud over the breakfast table had us roaring with laughter. The Welcome Note at the beginning is poignant and revealing of humanity’s attitude to how we dwell. I heartily recommend this wonderful collection of poems with the most wonderful illustrations by Beth Munro

[Lydia]

“spiders darn holes in the hedge”

[Sofia_cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like eating cake for breakfast

[Gavin Lightfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great poetry about the natural habitats and dwellings of our wildlife inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, from our poet laureate illustrated with the vivid prints of Beth Munro.

[Alfie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dwell” on this book’s cover is at once an imperative verb and a noun. “Stay here” and “here is pause”. An overall good little exercise is stopping and listening. Sometimes the humour loses me, but then the metaphorical depictions win me back.

[Cecilie Emilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Paul Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just loved this. His work feels effortless but is most likely the result of hard work.

Insect hotel is brilliant.

Great lines
Beavers - teeth / that have grown bodies and tails.

Den - Into a wet morning out of ash and filth a fox emerges dripping with flames setting the mind on fire.

Warren - Rabbits lurk and skulk in the brain of the burrow. The hill is thinking.

Deer diary - Dusk stubbing out its last cigar of the day.

[Shabanah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this commissioned collection about the ‘Lost Gardens of Heligan’ in Cornwall for its wit, charm, and moments of beauty, but nowhere near as much as Blossomise - though using gentle haiku here again was perfectly suited to the plea to ‘dwell’ and contemplate. Inevitably, being Armitage, it was laced with Ted Hughes tributes eg the over-explicit final stanza of ‘Den’:

‘out of ash and filth a fox emerges
dripping with flames,
setting the mind on fire.’

…but sadly these only reminded me how much more terror and mystery there is in Hughes’ poetry, or even in Armitage’s own Stanza Stones, his much more powerful tribute to that great poet and the Yorkshire landscape. There didn’t seem to be any poems that stood out as truly dynamic or memorable for me - perhaps ‘Hive’, with its ‘nuclear reactor’ transformational energy came closest.

On the plus side, the collection is slim, accessible and welcoming for those who find poetry intimidating, and I did appreciate the sense of wonder, and ‘child’s eye’ curiosity with which he said he tried to write it. I can see the poems using comically inventive metaphors and similes eg ‘Sett’, or with teen appeal eg ‘Insect Hotel’, being obvious choices for the next round of GCSE poetry anthologies. And of course, the lovely, fresh illustrations and reasonable pricing for a hardback book make this an ideal gift for someone not used to reading poetry but who might be tempted to read to read this because of their interest in either nature itself or the Heligan Gardens. I imagine it’s selling well in their gift shop.

[Pip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story behind this poetry collection. Simon Armitage was asked to write poems about the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and he focused on the wildlife that lived there. Beautiful images in words (and the illustrations by Beth Munro), thought provoking and humorous. My favourite was probably "Insect Hotel" with the various guests' comments making me laugh out loud. This would be a lovely gift for a nature lover.

[Russio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice item, received on Fathers' Day - most appreciated. Each poem takes a different tack, with some splendid evocations of nature. Particularly wonderful are the 'reviews' of the Insect Hotel and the imagined hive interior told in a very visceral way.

[Paul Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Very short, but great poems and lovely art.

[A.T Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book of poems with beautiful illustrations.

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the great good fortune to be able to attend Simon Armitage's event at the 2025 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The event was actually already sold out, but a friend who had a ticket was unable to attend and had passed her ticket on to me!

I had already bought this book in the festival bookshop before the event and had read it all while queueing to get into the Spiegeltent where Armitage (the UK's Poet Laureate) was to speak. It's a short book, full of accessible poetry and beautifully presented, with wonderful illustrations by Beth Munro.

The book focuses on the places where animals live and was inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. Poems range from haiku to Insect Hotel, which imagines Trip Advisor type reviews from a range of inhabitants:

"Stopped here overnight on the way to a decaying oak a couple of miles away and ended up hibernating for the whole winter. Would deffo recommend. Dreamland."

At the event, chaired by Nick Barley (former director of the Edinburgh International Boook Festival and now director of the National Poetry Centre in Leeds) Armitage read from Dwell and discussed his writing process and the state of nature conservation in the UK.

Some people have commented that the book seems 'slight', which on first glance it might do (though I prefer to think of it as small and perfectly formed). However, the poems in the book have a double life and will themselves dwell in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, in a series of installations around the site, so that people will be able to find poetry as they walk around.

It was an excellent event and the book would make a beautiful gift for any poetry lover or anyone interested in animal homes. And if you get the chance, visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan and see if you can find the poems in situ!

[Marrianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this collection of poems and the illustrations were very beautiful - really tied it all together. I also liked how some of the poems tied in human traits as a fun contrast. The only thing I feel is that £10 is a lot of money for so few poems and I greedily wish there had been more. I also feel like a full page for a small illustration is a big waste of paper. It feels a bit hypocritical in a book that seeks to help highlight how fragile the balance of nature and mankind is at the moment.

Minimalist poetry is lovely and light and I have found some I really enjoy, but when you have three lines on one big page it’s becoming a big gripe to me at the moment as you could really have fit three poems to one page or moved/downsized some of the illustrations and saved on paper wastage imo. Just me though, not to knock the writing, it’s just something that’s annoying me a lot at the moment with minimalist poems and their published formats.

I also counted four title pages. I got a signed copy so I don’t know if that affects how many titles you get but why do we need four? We dwell, we are dwelling and I enjoyed the poems so much I am searching out a copy of Blossomise, but why do we dwell four times? Two would have sufficed.

[Jem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous and surprising read. I had picked this up for a reading challenge didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did (usually I avoid poetry, reminds me too much of school) but I’ve been completely won over. The poems are short, playful, and rich with rhythm, and I found reading them very enjoyable. Insect Hotel was a standout for its humour and performance potential, while others like Hive and Den offered beautiful imagery and unexpected depth. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and really enhanced the meaning and enjoyment of each piece, I’m not sure I would have connected with it the same way without them. A joyful, accessible introduction to poetry that I’m so glad I stumbled across.

[Peter Longden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sealey Challenge 2025
Day 23: ‘Dwell’ by Simon Armitage
I am privileged to have heard much of the ‘Dwell’ collection, read by Simon Armitage him at this years Hay Literary Festival, and have been looking forward to savouring the delights of, what I know is, a brilliant collection of poetry. From the humorous delight of ‘Insect Hotel’ to ‘Den’, a homage to the fox as well as fellow poet and laureate, Ted Hughes, who similarly wrote famously about the creature.
A project to annotate the habitats in the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, the collection begins strikingly with ‘Pond’ to then reveal the first of many beautiful illustrations by Beth Munro which make this a magical literary art experience.
Marvellous collection to read as well.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of new poems by Simon Armitage. Created as a collection for The Lost Gardens of Helligan in Cornwall, each poem centres of the homes of British wildlife: setts, drays, nest boxes etc.

Parts of the collection are bucolic and meditative, whilst others show Armitage’s skills as a comic. This is most notable in Insect Hotel comprising a selection of TripAdvisor style reviews of an insect hotel by an array of different visitors.

I highly recommend a read of this collection, even if you regard yourself as someone who’s not into poetry.

[Polly Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of Armitage's signature playful wit here, tangling the language of the human with that of nature, dwelling together on the page.

Dwell is a charming, fairly innocuous observation of some of our cohabitants, Armitage doesn't go as far as to confront the challenges they face from their human landlords. A varied collection: a mixture of haiku and longer pieces, both humour and sincerity balanced across his work.

"that tail is a question mark / and the answer is squirrel."

[T P Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a small collection of pastoral poems but I really enjoyed them. It's reminiscent of Hardy's poems though simpler and with less of a tragic edge. Some great humour here such as the Insect Hotel - told from a trip advisor type service for the "guests". Gorgeous volume with fantastic illustrations. Just wish this was a bigger collection.

[Nick Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poems inspired by the Lost Gardens of Heligan, a place to dwell, to stop and think

Armitage has said that finding new ways to write about nature is inherently hard but here he does just that, and for me does so with more consideration and originality than contemporaries such as MacFarlane.

Wonderful.

[jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection but slightly underwhelming, especially from a poet laureate.

Having read the foreword I get he’s trying to convey the importance of safeguarding these habitats but I felt the poems themselves didn’t give a particular message. They just felt like lyrical vignettes in the lives of animals and I would have preferred them to pack more of a punch I guess.

[Ana Unruh Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and fun book of poetry and illustrations. It caught my eye at Blackwell’s in Oxford and I decided to get it since I couldn’t find the book of poetry I was looking for. Read it on the flight back from London and will read it again soon. Simon Armitage is the UK Poet Laureate and based on this, I want to read more of his work.