HUDDERSFIELD poet Simon Armitage launched Sheffield’s Poetry festival.

Simon, the University of Sheffield’s Professor of Poetry, opened the Poetry Festival with readings from Selected Poems and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

He is playing a key role at the University of Sheffield, in both a one-year HEIF 4 funded project entitled Creative Writing in the Community and the Creative Writing MA pathway run by the School of English.

Sheffield-based award winning poet Rob Hindle, chairman of Sheffield Poetry Festival, said: “As one of the most important poets in the UK, and with Simon’s recent appointment as Professor of Poetry at the University of Sheffield, it was great that he played such a prominent a role in the Festival.”