Simon Armitage, Mona Arshi and Zaffar Kunial: The T.S. Eliot Memorial Lecture, LSE

Simon Armitage is one of the most celebrated poets of his generation. His style is direct but not brash, emotive but not saccharine, striking a balance in a way that few others can. He’s also a keen advocate of medieval literature, with his translations of Gawain and the Green Knight and The Death of King Arthur bringing Middle English lore to a wider audience. It’s easy to see why he was appointed as the Oxford Professor of Poetry in 2015, following in the footsteps of Sir Geoffrey Hill.

On April 18, Armitage is joined on stage by fellow poets Mona Arshi and Zaffar Kunial for the Royal Society of Literature’s T.S. Eliot Memorial Reading. Arshi’s debut collection Small Hands won her the 2015 Forward Prize, its precise, understated verse announcing the arrival of a major new talent. Kunial’s first collection was released in 2014 as part of the Faber New Poets series, exploring, among much else, the ways in which language informs our sense of self.

The reading is to be held at the Old Theatre at the London School of Economics, and introduced by the poet and former editor of Poetry Review Fiona Sampson. What better way to spend a Monday evening than listening to some of the day’s finest and most promising literary voices?