Simon Armitage in Southsea

A good number of the Portsmouth poetry community gathered by Southsea Castle this morning to see Simon Armitage, the unveiling of his new poem on the sea defences and hear it read, twice for those who stayed long enough.

The Theatre of the Sea is an impressive effort in response to an approach for such a thing. Simon was a student at Portsmouth Polytechnic in the early 1980's which provides a link to the Poet Laureate. As he read in his unperturbed way, just on cue when he reached the line about the hovercraft, it launched itself towards the Isle of Wight as if choreographed. Enter, stage right, hovercraft.

It was a fine performance by a poet who is making a good job of the strange title he's currently in possession of. 

It was good to see so many of the various Portsmouth poetry people in attendance, not all of who I see very often these days and, unlike some 'public' art, it's a poem worth having.