Simon Armitage: New collection of poetry - The Not Dead
Published: Monday October 27, 2008 by Pomona Books. (ISBN: 978-1-904-59018-7)

‘The Not Dead is uniquely impressive. In transmuting the stories of particular soldiers into the lyrical music of Simon Armitage’s poems, something exceptional is achieved: the painful truth of lives damaged beyond help is made meaningful for the rest of us. We can only catch our breath and read them again and again’ - Joan Bakewell.

As Remembrance Sunday approaches, one of Britain’s leading poets, Simon Armitage, issues a timely collection of work focusing on conflicts aside from the Great War and World War Two.

The poems were originally aired on a Channel 4 documentary film of the same name, shown in the summer of 2007. They are featured alongside an introduction from Simon and press reviews of the film. The poems focus on the testimonies of veterans of the Gulf, Bosnia and Malayan wars - ex-soldiers who have seldom been heard before.

"Never having been to the front line, turning the words, phrases and experiences of these soldiers into verse has been the closest I've ever come to writing "real" war poetry, and as close as I ever want to get," said Simon.

The Not Dead received excellent reviews in the press and moving responses on the Web from other veterans. "I wasn't present when the three men read the poems to camera, but it can't have been easy for them. In my view, it was a supreme act of bravery," Simon added.

There are three official launches of the book, where Simon will appear:

Tuesday 11 November
7pm, The Showroom, Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1
Tickets £5.50/£4 (cons) from The Showroom - Tel. 0114 275 7727

Wednesday 12 November
7.45pm, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
Tickets are £10. Box Office: 0871 663 2586

Thursday 13 November
6.30pm, Free to students and the public.
Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University. (opposite the Commonwealth Aquatics Centre), Rosamond Street West, Off Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6LL.