All the Living Laureates, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy and Andrew Motion, will be appearing at this year's

Ledbury Poetry Festival

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The UK's new Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage will perform on Sunday, July 14, Carol Ann Duffy on Friday, July 12 and Andrew Motion will be on stage on Saturday, July 6.

Simon Armitage was recently appointed the UK’s new Poet Laureate, which sees the baton passed to him from Dame Carol Ann Duffy: “It’s a huge honour to be appointed Poet Laureate, I hope to build on the work of my predecessors with energy and enthusiasm,” he said of his appointment, which sees him take on the role for a fixed term of 10 years.

Her Majesty The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Simon Armitage as the next Poet Laureate for a fixed-term of ten years.

Andrew Motion served as Poet Laureate between 1999 and 2009, taking over from Ted Hughes. Previous Poet Laureates have included William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman. UK Poet Laureates initially served until their death until the rules were changed in 1999 to give more poets the opportunity to hold the position.

Ledbury Poetry Festival’s Artistic Director, Chloe Garner, who was part of a steering group appointed by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright to select the new Poet Laureate, praised Simon Armitage’s outstanding contribution to poetry over the course of his career. “It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm with which Simon Armitage is taking on the role of Poet Laureate and that he will use the position to make exciting and positive things happen in the world of poetry. Whatever Simon Armitage does as Laureate will have a significant impact because that is the power of poetry. Ledbury Poetry Festival will support him as much as possible in his efforts.”

A Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds, Simon has published 28 collections of poetry. His work has been studied by millions of children as part of the national curriculum and in 2010 he received a CBE for services to poetry.

Ledbury Poetry Festival box office is now open. To book, call 01531 636 232 or online at www.poetry-festival.co.uk, where you'll find full details of this year's programme.