A MAN tipped to become the next Poet Laureate has given chapter and verse to students at an East Hampshire school.
Critically-acclaimed poet and writer Simon Armitage delivered a creative workshop to students at Bedales.
The Ivor Novello-winning poet engaged sixth form students in a range of exercises ahead of a sell-out performance in the Olivier Theatre.
One of the students, Alex Lunn, said: “After the exercise in which we had to write non-stop for a couple of minutes, we were told to pause and read our example.
“They were certainly not the finished product, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Writing is best in its purest form.
“There is time for editing – and punctuation, even – later.”
Another exercise saw students draft a poem, with Armitage instructing them to focus on something monotonous.
Alex added: “When Simon would say ‘make it about a surprising object in the left-hand corner’, you could hear the class groan. You could sense this was the reaction Simon wanted but writing about the dull might just end up being the most inspirational.”
Armitage’s workshop was followed by the theatre appearance where he read pieces of his own work before taking questions from the audience.