Flies & Crickets, Dogs, Fish, and Birds

The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage meets different animals (he gets close to crickets, goes for a walk with a French bulldog, goes fishing with Feargal Sharkey and encounters birds and their ancestors) - as he drafts a brand new poem.

Simon’s written a lot about animals in the past, but always at a distance. He wants that to change, and to feel that he has captured the spirit of an animal, and done it justice. In this series, across different creaturely encounters, meetings with poets, and some of the most vivid poems about animals ever written . Simon asks whether a poem can bring an animal closer to us, and if poetry can help us grasp what other animals really mean to humans, in an age when so many other species are under threat.

Featuring 'The Fish' read by Elizabeth Bishop

Produced by Faith Lawrence
Flies, Dogs and FIsh Mixed by Sharon Hughes ( Shush)

Birds and their ancestors mixed by Simon Highfield