LYR are UK’s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage – who has had a connection to St Ives over many years, Patrick Pearson – producer and multi instrumentalist and Grammy-nominated singer songwriter Richard Walters.
Expect soaring vocals, ethereal soundscapes and extraordinary lyrics creating an unmissable experience within the beautiful 15C Church of St Ia. St Ives
Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, was born in Marsden, a small town in West Yorkshire, close to the moors. Much of his poetry makes reference to his experience of this landscape. Through the Ilkley Literature Festival he was commissioned to write site-specific poems which have been carved into the Pennine landscape. He first came to St Ives in 1999 the week of the eclipse, finding last minute accommodation in Love Lane and has returned many times since. Although he doesn’t bring his computer he has said many of his poems have been originated when here.
(Barbara Hepworth also found a connection between the Yorkshire and Cornish landscape).
In 2013 he walked the South West Coastal path between Minehead and Land’s End collecting donations in a sock during his poetry readings along the way. Finishing with a flourish in the Scilly Isles. When asked to compare it with his Pennine walks he said ‘not as easy to get lost and the scenery is staggering (in more ways than one)? – not quite the stroll on the beach he had expected!
