Faculty Professor of Poetry awarded Freedom of the City of London

One of the City of London’s ancient traditions, the Freedom is awarded to pay tribute to individuals’ outstanding contributions to London or public life, or to celebrate significant achievements

Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate and Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds’ School of English, has received the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of “his outstanding achievements in the written word and his enthusiastic promotion of poetry, in particular, to the younger generation”.

One of the City of London’s ancient traditions, the Freedom began in the 13th century and enabled recipients to carry out their trade. Today the Freedom is awarded to pay tribute to individuals’ outstanding contributions to London or public life, or to celebrate significant achievements. Recent recipients include comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry, Olympic athlete Lady Mary Peters, and Giles Terera MBE, a British actor, musician and filmmaker.

In 2017 Simon Armitage became the University of Leeds’ first Professor of Poetry and has since been involved in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as being actively involved in the Poetry@Leeds creative initiative at the University of Leeds. In May 2019, he became the British Poet Laureate, succeeding Carol Ann Duffy.

During a career spanning nearly four decades, Professor Armitage has written over 20 collections of poetry, starting with Zoom! in 1989. His most recent work includes Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems in 2020 and Blossomise in 2024, a limited-edition collaboration with artist Angela Harding. He has translated major classic texts, including the Odyssey and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and written several non-fiction works, including Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way and A Vertical Art: Oxford Lectures. Simon is also an accomplished playwright, novelist, and the frontman of the ambient post-rock band, LYR. He is currently leading the project to establish a National Poetry Centre in Leeds.

Commenting on the award, Professor Simon Armitage said:

“This is a wonderful and exciting honour. I’m a northerner and have lived in West Yorkshire all my life, but through poetry and all its different manifestations, London has become a home from home, the place I know best outside my own postcode. 

“The City itself has always been something of a mystery to me until recent years when I’ve started exploring it more for work and pleasure. The Freedom feels like an invitation to spend even more time in a place that feels truly historic yet determinedly futuristic, a sort of visa in my poetic passport. Thank you - expect me any moment.”

Professor Hazel Hutchinson, Head of the School of English, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to see Simon honoured with the Freedom of the City of London. His extraordinary contribution to poetry, and to public life more broadly, continues to inspire readers and writers across generations. As Poet Laureate and Professor of Poetry here at Leeds, he brings energy, generosity and creative vision to everything he does, and we are immensely proud to count him among our colleagues.”

Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward, said:

“One of our most celebrated Poet Laureates, Sir John Betjeman, lived in Cloth Fair and our greatest playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, bought a property in the City, so the Square Mile enjoys a tangible association with poets and poetry.  

“Of particular note, the City of London Corporation owns the beautiful Regency villa in Hampstead where Simon’s hero, John Keats, lived and wrote some of his most popular works, such as ‘Ode to a Nightingale.’

“With these links forged in our history and mindful of how Simon is a leading ambassador for poetry, it is entirely fitting that his achievements are recognised by this tribute from the City.”

Recorder of London, His Honour Mark Lucraft KC, said:

“As prolific and versatile as he is popular and accessible, Simon Armitage is one of our finest poets – now, almost six years into the historic position of Poet Laureate - and also a talented musician, playwright, and novelist.

“It has given my colleague, Fiona Adler, and I tremendous pleasure to support his admission into the Freedom, which is richly deserved, and we hope that he will have fond memories of his ceremony for many years to come.”

For the first time in the City of London’s history, the Freedom ceremony – most often held in the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall or The Mansion House - was conducted in the Barbican Centre’s Conservatory.

Following the ceremony, Simon took part in a special public reading of a selection of his works. Before the reading, two members of the Barbican’s artist development programme, Barbican Young Poets, Geraint Ellis and Christy Ku, each read an original poem inspired by his work.