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Magnetic Field

The Marsden Poems
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( 135 ratings, 24 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Magnetic Field collects Simon Armitage's poetic reflections on his upbringing in Marsden, West Yorkshire. From his earliest works to new pieces, the book explores the enduring influence of the night-time view from his bedroom window and the surrounding moors. Armitage delves into themes of identity, memory, and the powerful connection between people and place, portraying Marsden as a unique and complex frontier between worlds.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book will appeal to readers interested in poetry, British landscapes, and personal journeys of cultural and psychological significance. Those who appreciate reflective, place-based literature and fans of Simon Armitage's work will find it especially rewarding.

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A special 'poetry of place' edition to accompany Simon Armitage throughout his laureateship.

A special 'poetry of place' edition to accompany Simon Armitage throughout his laureateship.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Growing up in Marsden among the hills of West Yorkshire, Simon Armitage has always associated his early poetic experiences with the night-time view from his bedroom window, those 'private, moonstruck observations' and the clockwork comings and goings in the village providing rich subject matter for his first poems. Decades on, that window continues to operate as both framework and focal point for the writing, the vastness of the surrounding moors always at his shoulder and forming a constant psychological backdrop, no matter how much time has elapsed and how distant those experiences.

Magnetic Field brings together Armitage's Marsden poems, from his very first pamphlet to new work from a forthcoming collection. It offers personal insight into a preoccupation that shows no signs of fading, and his perspective on a locality he describes as 'transcendent and transgressive', a genuinely unique region forming a frontier territory between many different worlds. Magnetic Field also invites questions about the forging of identity, the precariousness of memory, and our attachment to certain places and the forces they exert.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571361458

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 April 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 100g

Pages: 112

About the Author

Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published twelve collections of poetry, including Seeing Stars (2010), The Unaccompanied (2017), Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic (2019) and his acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2007). He writes extensively for television and radio, and is the author of two novels and the non-fiction bestsellers All Points North (1998), Walking Home (2012) and Walking Away (2015). His theatre works include The Last Days of Troy, performed at Shakespeare's Globe in 2014. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Professor of Poetry at Oxford University, and, in 2018, he was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Simon Armitage is Poet Laureate.

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