Simon Armitage named UK's poet laureate

West Yorkshire writer speaks of parents’ pride and his desire to ‘give something back’ as he succeeds Carol Ann Duffy

The West Yorkshire poet Simon Armitage, a former probation officer who describes his writing as “no-brow”, has been appointed as the UK’s 21st poet laureate.

Armitage, who received a phone call from Theresa May offering him the position on Thursday, said his parents cried when he told them the news – he had made them particularly nervous in 1994, when he gave up his day job to become a full-time poet.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2YmXQgt