An Afternoon with Simon Armitage
Join us for an afternoon of readings and conversation with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage as he presents his major new poetry collection, New Cemetery.
Chronicling the extraordinary transformation of landscape both outer and inner, these luminous and wry poems reflect the changing world and are as surprising as they are life-enhancing.
Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. His award-winning collections include Seeing Stars (2010), The Unaccompanied (2017), Magnetic Field (2020), Blossomise (2023) and Dwell (2025). Simon Armitage is Poet Laureate.
Need to know
Access
You can join our free Access Scheme through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.
Find out more about our Access Scheme
All our access information
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.