Poet Laureate Simon Armitage embarks on a new leg of his 10-year tour of the UK’s libraries and Oldham is on the list.

He will be at Chadderton Library and Wellbeing Centre on Thursday at 2pm to explore themes of place and home with readings from his poems and the stories behind them.

The live-streamed event will also feature Mancunian performance artist Keisha Thompson and young talent from Oldham Academy North, Fateha Alam and Lawdy Karim.

Each spring this decade, Simon is doing readings across the UK, from the flagship libraries of the big cities to smaller libraries serving rural and remote communities.

Using the alphabet as a compass, his journey will celebrate the library as one of the great and necessary institutions. 

Having begun with the letters ‘A’ and ‘B’ last spring, he will continue to use the alphabet as the framework for the tour – this spring it’s the turn of ‘C’ and ‘D’.

Mr Armitage said: “I want to celebrate the physical space of libraries and take my work back into places that have given me so much.”

Councillor Shaid Mushtaq, Oldham Council Cabinet member for education and skills, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to Chadderton Library and Wellbeing Centre as part of his national tour.

“There is a rich history of arts and culture here in Oldham and meeting a Poet Laureate is a fantastic opportunity for our young people.

“Hopefully he will inspire more Oldhamers to get involved with poetry thanks to this great event.”

The free event will be live-streamed, to book visit crowdcast.io/e/chadderton.