{"title":"Simon Armitage Books","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrowse the books by Simon Armitage we have in stock, second-hand, in paperback and hardback. Mostly poetry and non-fiction. Every book ships from our own UK warehouse. Free UK delivery on orders of £10 or more.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"homers-odyssey-1","title":"Homer's Odyssey","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt took ten years for the Greeks to achieve victory at Troy, and for a further ten years Odysseus has been heading home, his journey dogged by perilous storms and treacherous landfalls. Now the Gods have decided it is time for the wandering hero to find Ithaca, before his faithful wife Penelope is forced to marry again. But angry Poseidon is seeking revenge for the mutilation of his son, and further dangers lie ahead if Odysseus is to be reunited with his family, and confront the suitors before time runs out. In this new verse adaptation, originally commissioned for BBC Radio, Simon Armitage has recast Homer's epic as a series of dramatic dialogues: between gods and men; between no-nonsense Captain Odysseus and his unruly, lotus-eating, homesick companions; between subtle Odysseus (wiliest hero of antiquity) and a range of shape-shifting adversaries - Calypso, Circe, the Sirens, the Cyclops - as he and his men are 'pinballed between islands' by adversity. The Odyssey is a book of changes, and Simon Armitage's retelling of Homer's epic quickens and revitalizes our sense of it as oral poetry: as indeed one of the greatest of tall tales. His version bristles with the economy, wit and guile that we have come to expect from one of the most individual voices of his generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 266\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780571229352\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £60.49","offer_id":47912233042097,"sku":"SB-0571229352-C3","price":60.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0571229352.jpg?v=1789283030"},{"product_id":"tyrannosaurus-rex-versus-the-corduroy-kid","title":"Tyrannosaurus Rex versus the Corduroy Kid","description":"\u003cp\u003eEngaging above all with the matter of England in the here and now Simon Armitage focuses his attention on the conflicts within society today. The result is his wittiest, most alertly combative and impassioned collection to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 66\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780571233267\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Poor Condition — £1.00","offer_id":47912234811569,"sku":"SB-0571233260-C4","price":1.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0571233260.jpg?v=1789684917"},{"product_id":"seeing-stars","title":"Seeing Stars","description":"\u003cp\u003eSimon Armitage's new collection is by turns a voice and a chorus: a hyper-vivid array of dramatic monologues, allegories, parables and tall tales. Here comes everybody: Snoobie and Carla, Lippincott, Wittmann, Yoshioka, Bambuck, Dr Amsterdam, Preminger. The man whose wife drapes a border-curtain across the middle of the marital home; the English astronaut with a terrestrial outlook on life; an orgiastic cast of unreconstructed pie-worshipers at a Northern sculpture farm; the soap-opera supremacists at their zoo-wedding; the driver who picks up hitchhikers as he hurtles towards a head-on collision with Thatcherism; a Christian cheese-shop proprietor in the wrong part of town; the black bear with a dark secret, the woman who curates giant snowballs in the chest freezer. Celebrities and nobodies, all come to the ball. The storyteller who steps in and out of this human tapestry changes, trickster-style, from poem to poem, but retains some identifying traits: the melancholy of the less deceived, crossed with an undercover idealism. And he shares with many of his characters a star-gazing capacity for belief, or for being 'genuine in his disbelief'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 74\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780571249930\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £2.73","offer_id":47912239136945,"sku":"SB-0571249930-C3","price":2.73,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0571249930.jpg?v=1789216162"},{"product_id":"paper-aeroplane-selected-poems-1989-2014","title":"Paper Aeroplane: Selected Poems 1989–2014","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Paper Aeroplane' is the author's own selection from across a quarter-century of work, from his debut to the latest, uncollected work. Drawing upon all of his award-winning poetry collections, including 'Kid', 'Book of Matches', 'The Universal Home Doctor' and 'Seeing Stars', this generous selection provides an essential gathering of this most thrilling of poets, and is key reading for students and general readers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780571310692\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Poor Condition — £1.00","offer_id":47912244183217,"sku":"SB-0571310699-C4","price":1.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0571310699.jpg?v=1789687555"},{"product_id":"blossomise","title":"Blossomise","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e** A Top Ten \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller **\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate, brings new perspectives and energy to a timeless poetic subject.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eBlossomise\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates the ecstatic arrival of spring blossom just as it acknowledges, too, its melancholy disappearance. Full of spirited leaps of imagination and language, the twenty-one poems hopscotch between intense momentary haikus that honour the Japanese traditions of the blossom festival and stand-alone lyrical pieces that take in the stylistic tones of ballads, hymns, songs, prayers and nursery rhymes. From a crashed Ford Capri wrapped around the immovable trunk of a cherry tree, to saplings flourishing among skyscrapers and urban sprawl, the fizz and froth of the annual blossom display is explored here both as an exuberant emblem of the natural world and a nervous marker of our vulnerable climate.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Angela Harding responds to the poems in wonderful accompanying illustrations.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Published in collaboration with the National Trust as part of their annual Blossom programme and campaign.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Simon Armitage's book \u003ci\u003eBlossomise\u003c\/i\u003e was a Sunday Times bestseller w\/c 23-03-2024\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 72\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780571388417\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Very Good — £1.00","offer_id":47912257650865,"sku":"SB-0571388418-C2","price":1.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0571388418.jpg?v=1789227707"},{"product_id":"the-owl-and-the-nightingale-a-new-verse-translation-134-lockert-library-of-poetry-in-translation","title":"The Owl and the Nightingale: A New Verse Translation: 134 (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the UK Poet Laureate and bestselling translator of \u003ci\u003eSir Gawain and the Green Knight\u003c\/i\u003e, a complete verse translation of a spirited and humorous medieval English poem\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Owl and the Nightingale\u003c\/i\u003e, one of the earliest literary works in Middle English, is a lively, anonymous comic poem about two birds who embark on a war of words in a wood, with a nearby poet reporting their argument in rhyming couplets, line by line and blow by blow. In this engaging and energetic verse translation, Simon Armitage captures the verve and humor of this dramatic tale with all the cut and thrust of the original.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn an agile iambic tetrameter that skillfully amplifies the prosody and rhythm of the original, Armitage’s translation moves entertainingly from the eloquent and philosophical to the ribald and ridiculous. Sounding at times like antagonists in a Twitter feud, the owl and the nightingale quarrel about a host of subjects that still resonate today—including love, marriage, identity, cultural background, class distinctions, and the right to be heard. Adding to the playful, raucous mood of the barb-trading birds is Armitage, who at one point inserts himself into the poem as a “magistrate . . . to adjudicate”—one who is “skilled with words \u0026amp; worldly wise \/ \u0026amp; frowns on every form of vice.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeaturing the Middle English text on facing pages and an introduction by Armitage, this volume will delight readers of all ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/simon-armitage-books\"\u003eSimon Armitage\u003c\/a\u003e (all their books in stock)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 144\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780691202167\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £5.41","offer_id":47912598503601,"sku":"SB-0691202168-C3","price":5.41,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0691202168.jpg?v=1789260534"},{"product_id":"pearl-a-new-verse-translation-1","title":"Pearl – A New Verse Translation","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2017 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the acclaimed translator of \u003ci\u003eSir Gawain and the Green Knight\u003c\/i\u003e, a spellbinding new translation of this classic allegory of grief and consolation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimon Armitage, the acclaimed poet who brought \u003ci\u003eSir Gawain and the Green Knight\u003c\/i\u003e to vivid life in \"an energetic, free-flowing, high-spirited translation\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e), turns his attention to another beloved medieval English masterpiece, the soulful Pearl. Believed to have been penned by the same author who wrote Sir Gawain and housed in the same original fourteenth-century manuscript, \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e is here reanimated with Armitage's characteristic flair in the alliterative music of the original text.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e describes a bereft father mourning the loss of his precious \"Perle.\" Returning to the garden where she first disappeared, he observes the verdant shades of late summer—a cruel reminder of the grief that shadows his every waking thought. Succumbing to the afternoon heat, he falls into a trancelike sleep and dreams of a radiant apparition that closely resembles his Pearl. Standing before him across an unfordable stretch of water, the maiden reassures her father that she has been granted a home in heaven alongside Christ. At first overjoyed, then incredulous at the maiden’s exalted stature, the dreamer is ultimately convinced of her providence by a series of tense, sorrowful arguments as she—much like Dante’s Beatrice—leads him through the throes of grief toward a vision of paradise and divine redemption. At the brief, teasing glimpse of the kingdom of heaven, the dreamer rushes forward to join the maiden—only to be struck awake, his dream shattered and his irreplaceable Pearl lost once more.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresented alongside the original text, and overseen by renowned medievalist James Simpson, \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e is a spellbinding new translation of a classic medieval work. Remaining faithful to the intricate structure of the original, Armitage's virtuosic rendering of the lyrical dialogue between father and daughter arrives at the end only to echo the beginning; the poem emerges as a circular and perfected whole, much like the pearl itself. 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