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Not Dead
'The Not Dead' is a short collection of poems originally aired on a Channel 4 documentary film of the same name, shown in the winter of 2007. They are featured here alongside an introduction from Armitage and press reviews of the film, which is due for re-screening at the South Bank, London, in November 2008.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Simon Armitage
144 books370 followersSimon 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 23, 2009
There are only nine poems in this book: bit slim, I thought, as I collected it from the doorstep. By about halfway through the second poem ('The Black Swans') I was thinking: God help me get through these. They're wrenchingly powerful works, made all the more so by the fact that they are adapted from the testimonies of real soldiers still suffering from the inner hell of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. Simon Armitage has always had a genius for capturing the poetry of the vernacular, and here as elsewhere he is able to twist everyday idioms into strange shapes (the unexpected direction of the final poem 'Manhunt' is a good example).
The poems were originally screened in a documentary, read by the soldiers themselves. Some of these clips are available on youtube - watching them will prepare you for the harrowing nature of this collection. It's not one for everyone or every day, but there's more than enough pain in this slim volume to last you a lifetime. Required more than recommended.
The poems were originally screened in a documentary, read by the soldiers themselves. Some of these clips are available on youtube - watching them will prepare you for the harrowing nature of this collection. It's not one for everyone or every day, but there's more than enough pain in this slim volume to last you a lifetime. Required more than recommended.
June 4, 2009
My girlfriend bought this for me for xmas last year. I read it in about 25 minutes. Then I read it again. Then I made several members of my family - not poetry fans - read it. It is phenomenal.
The collection is constructed from interviews with PTSD-suffering ex-soldiers from various conflicts including the Falklands and the Gulf War. The language is unpretentious, and infinitely more powerful for it. By using the soldiers' own tongue, Armitage deftly avoids the trap of sanitising their accounts for the purposes of making it sound 'arty', and in doing so creates a series of shatteringly powerful accounts of the impact of war, as incendiary as the shells that led to the soldiers' illness.
As a therapist with a little knowledge of PTSD, I found this breathtakingly humanistic, honest, and emotionally-raw. I've yet to find any poetry that moves me quite so much.
The collection is constructed from interviews with PTSD-suffering ex-soldiers from various conflicts including the Falklands and the Gulf War. The language is unpretentious, and infinitely more powerful for it. By using the soldiers' own tongue, Armitage deftly avoids the trap of sanitising their accounts for the purposes of making it sound 'arty', and in doing so creates a series of shatteringly powerful accounts of the impact of war, as incendiary as the shells that led to the soldiers' illness.
As a therapist with a little knowledge of PTSD, I found this breathtakingly humanistic, honest, and emotionally-raw. I've yet to find any poetry that moves me quite so much.
January 5, 2017
Really enjoyed these poems especially 'remains'. Very honest raw voice
November 9, 2018
Read in less than 20 minutes, however, this was haunting in its portrayal of the actions in conflict. I am going to hunt out some more Armitage as this was brilliant.
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February 26, 2011A book is not simply some pieces of paper bound together for the convenience of entrapping words on as few slices of parchment as possible, it is a work of art, the content elevates the form, true, but the form also elevates the content, and this content is well elevated by this form, and it's better for it, would it be better if it had more in it, if it had more pages? or if the poems were printed on both sides, no, and on to the content, just fantastic, personal tragedy is woven into sharp gritty diamonds that tear at your eyes as you read them, war is hell and it seems for some so is peace, its like the conflicts and violence they witnessed are viruses, and they're not dead, just infected, if this book is a virus then i'm affected. and peversely, for all of this, its a joy to read.
January 24, 2015
I have been a fan of The Manhunt by Simon Armitage for many years, a genuinely moving, thought provoking poem with layers of emotion. I hadn't realised it was from this anthology, but when preparing for a new Poetry Scheme of Work at school this kept popping up.
I can't recommend it enough. You will read it and read it again and read it again.
I'm really hoping, (with the added visuals of some of the poems being spoken by the soldiers themselves on YouTube) my lower ability boys will really be able to engage with these poems.
I can't recommend it enough. You will read it and read it again and read it again.
I'm really hoping, (with the added visuals of some of the poems being spoken by the soldiers themselves on YouTube) my lower ability boys will really be able to engage with these poems.
May 16, 2013
Like so much modern poetry, it's a mix. BUT the two last poems in the sequence of nine, were just great. These are harrowing and one if left shaken.
January 3, 2026
'The Not Dead' is a short collection of poems. They were originally aired on a Channel 4 documentary film in 2007. This edition contains the poems and an introduction from Simon Armitage which gives context to the poems.
They're about fighting and not dying. About the experience of soldiers who return home where the government, press, and people have wrapped themselves in the red, white, and blue. Then left the survivors to rot in forgotten trauma. A trauma that time doesn't cure. A trauma that can pop up at any time, in any place. Set of by a sound or a smell or something in the corner of your eye.
Governments of all types tend to wipe their hands clean of soldiers once they have left the army - and their families. Deep breath, be a man, get on with life. Even now after over a hundred years of warfare with a clear understanding of the damage it does to people. Even now.
Armitage does a fine job here. He's good at striking off a phrase repeatedly like someone trying to start a fire by clicking flint together.
Really good. I'll read this again before I return it to the library. It's short enough. But powerful.
They're about fighting and not dying. About the experience of soldiers who return home where the government, press, and people have wrapped themselves in the red, white, and blue. Then left the survivors to rot in forgotten trauma. A trauma that time doesn't cure. A trauma that can pop up at any time, in any place. Set of by a sound or a smell or something in the corner of your eye.
Governments of all types tend to wipe their hands clean of soldiers once they have left the army - and their families. Deep breath, be a man, get on with life. Even now after over a hundred years of warfare with a clear understanding of the damage it does to people. Even now.
Armitage does a fine job here. He's good at striking off a phrase repeatedly like someone trying to start a fire by clicking flint together.
Really good. I'll read this again before I return it to the library. It's short enough. But powerful.
October 3, 2019
A brillant bunch of modern war poetry, with an excellent range. One about PTSD left me shaken, another from the point of view of a soldiers wife I though was poignant and tender
July 8, 2022
A short but shocking set of poems. Every veteran should read this.
May 17, 2019
Incredibly sad reading, but Armitage's poems are masterful. This is really moving poetry.
I watched this along with the TV film directed by Brian Hill, and I think it really brings the emotions in the poems to the fore. Highly recommended.
It's incredibly sad what some soldiers have had to go through with PTSD. To be honest, it's something I rarely thought about, but it's such a huge problem. Hopefully, things are better now for soldiers returning from conflict.
I watched this along with the TV film directed by Brian Hill, and I think it really brings the emotions in the poems to the fore. Highly recommended.
It's incredibly sad what some soldiers have had to go through with PTSD. To be honest, it's something I rarely thought about, but it's such a huge problem. Hopefully, things are better now for soldiers returning from conflict.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews