Antony Gormley
Sculptor Antony Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North, Field for the British Isles, and Quantum Cloud drops by to talk to Simon Armitage in his shed.
If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, he scratches away at his reworking of the comic medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, music, art, sheds, sherry, owls, nightingales and to throw light on some of the poem's internal themes.
Sculptor Antony Gormley's visit begins with a walk around the garden where his eye is caught by some huge Yorkshire standing stones. Their conversation ranges from The Angel of the North, placing sculpture in the landscape and the sea to the skills of the shipyard and the relationship between art and engineering. From body shape to chemistry sets, potions and explosions to Antony's first work of art - two eyes, carved into a wall at his old school.
Last on
Broadcast
- Sat 9 May 2020 19:15Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Sir Ian McKellen: 10 things we learned when he spoke to the Poet Laureate
Johnny Marr: 10 things we learned when he spoke to Simon Armitage
Chris Packham: Seven things we learned when he spoke to Simon Armitage
Kate Tempest: 10 things we learned when she spoke to Simon Armitage
Guy Garvey: Nine things we learned when he spoke to Simon Armitage
Podcast
-
The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage talks to guests about life, language and music in his shed.