Simon Armitage: Poet's progress

Next Thursday he will leave Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders to walk the Pennine Way to Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District hoping to pay his way by giving nightly poetry readings and then passing round the hat.

Despite international acclaim, nine volumes of poetry, successful plays, numerous awards and prizes and being tipped as a future Poet Laureate, he says: "I'm always curious about what it means to be a poet and the notion occurred to me to see if I could live on my wits and my poetry. It goes back to the old troubadour idea. I'm doing the walk as a poet and wherever I stop for the night I'm going to give a reading. There will be no charge but at the end I'm going to pass a hat around, and people can give me what they think I'm worth. I want to see if I can pay my way from start to finish on the proceeds of my poetry. It's basically 270 miles of begging. I've called in a lot of favours and the currency with which I'm going to pay for this is poetry so I'm hoping that poetry will still turn out to be legal tender. I don't suppose there are many cash points on Cross Fell anyway."

He has, however, made use of technology the troubadours never dreamt of. Earlier this year the walk was announced on his website and as a result he now has a place to stay at the end of each day's walking and venues for most of his readings. They range from small informal gatherings in private homes to the largest, the Georgian Theatre in Richmond on July 18, but even here there will be no charge, simply the passing of the hat. Other readings will take place in village halls, a couple of pubs and even a football club in Glossop.

As the start date approached only two dates remained unbooked. "But there will be a reading on one of them," he says. "I shall inflict it on whoever I can find – even if it has to be in a phone booth." The other evening coincides with the World Cup Final and he admits that poetry may not be able to compete with the lure of the beautiful game. Besides which, he'd quite like to see the match himself.

He says: "I am throwing myself on the mercy of strangers but they are throwing themselves at my mercy as well and I'm hoping there will be plenty of incidents along the way as I'm planning to write a book about the whole experience. I'd also be very surprised if it did not produce some poems as well.

"I usually begin composing while I'm walking; perhaps there's a connection between the rhythm of the steps and the rhythm of the words and walking is a very contemplative activity.

"I've always fancied myself as a bit of a walker and I've always had a pair of walking boots. I ramble and wander a lot and I have done individual long walks like the Three Peaks and The Lyke Wake but that was a long time ago when I was young and lean.

"Now I've got a glass spine and I've never done this kind of distance where you have to get up and do it all again the next day and the next and the next."

Being born close to the route of the Pennine Way has also given him a respect for the high moorland which much of it crosses.

"Growing up in Marsden you were aware that you did not need to go far onto the moor to get lost. You knew that there were times when people went up there and did not come back down. I saw them flagging the path but the moor just seems to eat up everything you put on it.

"I've also heard horrific stories about blisters and how hard it is to keep going but I hope knowing that I have to do the readings each evening will keep me moving forward.

"Being a poet is probably not the best preparation for a strenuous activity like this but the idea of having to look people in the face without having done it would be too shaming.

"About six months ago I inherited my Uncle Bob's medals from the First World War. I might put one of those in my rucksack to remind me that if he could go through a war I can put up with a few blisters."

A full list of Simon Armitage's planned readings during his Pennine Way walk can be found on his website www.simonarmitage.com

YP MAG 3/7/10