Paper Aeroplane: Poems 1989–2014 by Simon Armitage

Paper Aeroplane: Poems 1989–2014 Reviews

• 
  Atri

  Always we are moving away.
  In the tunnel we test the echo of
  the engine and check our haircuts in the
  rain-spattered quarter-light. Someday, something
  
  will give. When the sun comes up tomorrow
  it will dawn on us. But for now we shine
  like the stars we understand...
  
  ***
  
  Outside we watch the evening, failing again, and we let it happen. We can say nothing.
  
  Sometimes the sun spangles and we feel alive. One thing we have to get, John, out of this life.
  
  ***
  
  We studied the view as if we owned it;
  noted each change, and condoned it.
  ...
  For what we have, or had, we are grateful.
  To say otherwise
  would be bitterness
  and we know better than to surrender.
  
  ***
  
  We idle now on waiting lists, and dream
  of runways, level crossings, traffic queues;
  waiting to come clean,
  to break the news
  
  of how we live, of what we have seen,
  of how it leaves us, and what that proves.
  A light goes green
  but nobody moves.
  
  ***
  
  The sun will have its day,
  its weeks, months,
  years.
  
  Fine.
  But just for once, for me,
  dig deep, think twice, be otherwise, be
  someone else this time.
  Mine.
• 
  Ryan

  When I see a Selected Poems by Heaney, Hughes or Harrison I feel they've always been there. When I see this, the second Selected Poems from a poet whose career started when I was an eight year old, that feeling isn't there. A unique kind of buzz is however.
  
  Armitage actually saw something of the real world before finding his voice (he was a probation officer for seven years). Although interested in poems that want to crack the code for the Self, the Cosmos etc. he prefers poems that tell a story. He doesn’t think the more unreadable a poem is, the better it is. Unlike too many modern poets, he is not a product of the Oxbridge Assembly Line.
  
  The volume punches its weight. Excepts from Armitage’s growing list of translations are included for the first time alongside work that has previously appeared in limited editions. Armitage has never wanted for versatility but the whole is a pleasing reminder of how many plates he can spin.
  
  I made a mental note of all the poems I hoped to see and tallied up how many did. Long-time favourites like 'It Ain't What You Do, It's What It Does To You', 'Great Sporting Moments: The Treble', 'The Two of Us', 'The Tyre', 'I Say I Say I Say' and 'Poem' (from Kid) all re-appear. So does 'To His Lost Lover' - which still strikes me as Armitage's best poem.
  
  Surprisingly gems like 'Lines Thought to Have Been Written on the Eve of the Execution of a Warrant for His Arrest' and 'To Poverty' aren't here, which is a pity. I would loved to have seen more poems from his first collection, such as 'The Night Shift', 'Gone', 'Ten Pence Story' and 'Somewhere Along the Line'.
  
  Like a singer varying the set list between gigs, Armitage has tweaked his selections. Of the poems from Zoom! 'And You Know What Thought Did' has been dropped, while two more - 'Phenomenology' and 'Don't Blink' - have been added. With the exception of Moon Country (which now contributes two poems rather than one), the number of poems taken from the later volumes has been cut, including the long poem ‘Five Eleven Ninety-Nine.’
  
  While there are some first-rate poems like ‘All For One', 'Birthday' and 'The Shout' the quality control wobbles a little hereafter. 'The Spelling' is moving, but the poems from Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus the Corduroy Kid tens to lack the power and quotability of the earlier work. I can appreciate a writer trying to do something different and break the mould but the 'poems' from Seeing Stars don’t work at all.
  
  Thankfully things not only pick up from here, they soar. The excerpts from 'Black Roses - The Killing of Sophie Lancaster' are crisp, cinematic and urgent. The selections from In Memory of Water are superb. Armitage is known for his medium-sized poems that tell a story, often a comic one. But it's interesting to note how when he brings out his two-line stanzas all excess is dropped and tenderness dominates. Within the flinty joker there's a lyric poet trying to get out. After cameo appearances in 'To His Lost Lover', it's nice to see him grabbing the centre stage in beautiful poems like 'Snow'. I hope to see even more of him next time around.
• 
  Ally Shand

  Enjoyable collection to dip in and out of. Armitage is certainly a talented poet and he experiments with various forms.
  
  I think the poem entitled 'Poundland' was my favourite. Here's a brief excerpt:
  
  …beyond the hazard cone where serious chutney spillage had occurred.
  Then emerged souls: the duty manager with a face like Doncaster,
  mumbling, “For so much, what shall we give in return?”
  …
  In strangled words I managed,
  “How art thou come to these shady channels, into hell’s ravine?”
  …
  And paid forthwith, then broke surface
  and breathed extraordinary daylight into starved lungs,
  steered for home through precincts and parks scalded by polar winds,
  laden with whatnot, lightened of golden quids.
  
  Quite an accurate representation of the stresses of shopping in Poundland!
  
• 
  Joy C.

  Update: 3 stars.
  
  To be fair there were some really lovely poems in this collection that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was more to do with frequently understanding what was the deeper meanings behind these poems, which I sadly was unable to do a lot of them. I have to be honest I frequently felt quite lost over the meaning and themes, so it made a real slog to get through the whole collection in time for my uni quiz. I look forward to hearing the lecture on "Paper Aeroplane" from Dr. Indy though!
  
  However, some that I liked, or thought were interesting were: The Civilians, Zoom!, Gooseberry Season, I Say I Say I Say, and Before You Cut Loose, The Two of Us, Song of the West Men, and Listen Here, The Strid, the Kid, The Straight and Narrow, Leaves on the Line, Evening, Sloth, excerpts from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, excerpts from Out of the Blue, the Parting Shot, an Accommodation, I'll Be There to Love and Comfort You, the Accident, Aviators, Beyond Huddersfield, excerpts from Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster, excerpts from The Death of King Arthur, excerpts from In Memory of Water (Stanza stones) -- this may have been my favourite part of the collection actually!, and finally Harmonium and Paper Aeroplane were good too. I also enjoyed "Thank You For Waiting" - one of Armitage's unpublished poems we read and analysed in class.
  
  So actually overall, there were quite a few that I quite liked, but overall the reading experience was a little bit honestly boring and depressing. 2.5 stars, though after more study I might give it a 3-star rating. We'll see.
• 
  Anne Strachan

  An absorbing introduction to the brilliant Simin Armitage. His poems speak of nature, of emotions, tragedies and human existence. They are witty, moving, heart-wrenching - sometimes at the same time.
  
  There are also excerpts from his translations or dramatisations of the Odyssey, the Death of King Arthur and Gawain and the Green Knight.
  
  This makes me want to read every book in this anthology.
• 
  Graham Hiscock

  I've not read Armitage before, but saw this collection at my local Library and though I'd give it a go.
  
  I enjoyed this collection - the poems are accessible and readable but never facile or superficial. It's difficult to single out favourite poems but I enjoyed "Man with a Golf Ball Heart" and the selections from "Seeing Stars".
  
  I will certainly read some of the full collections.
• 
  John

  I'd have just bought this if I'd seen it before Collected Poems, but there's enough variation from the half of this book that covers the same period that I don't mind too much.
  Not really sure what to get next.
• 
  Charlotte

  Thank god my friend told me we didn't need to read this for the quiz because I was torturing myself trying to read this. Do not recommend if you don't like poems. I guess I liked I Say I Say I Say but honestly I'm not a poem person so trying to read 200+ page poem collection was the worst.
• 
  Jack Mckeever

  I've read many collations on Simon Armitage's work throughout my life. From the age of about 16 until now, his poetry has been something of a comfort blanket to me. Always there, always earthy, always able to eek out a sort of homely eeriness inspired by what's immediately around. And while the poetry I write is mostly inspired by urban settings, Armitage's ability to transform his sprawling Yorkshire homeland into a sometimes cosy, sometimes claustrophobic headspace is inspiring.
  
  I'd read many of the poems in Paper Aeroplane before, but when pulled together they form a sort of narrative. Not so much an evolution as a composite way into Armitage's head. But one of the most pleasant surprises was how much these poems relied on humour. If his work has ever come across as stuffy or *too* quietly English, then that's blown out of the water here.
  
  The poems are frequently shocking, but the lines flit between lowest-common-denominator wit and excavation and genuine respect. The best examples are 'You're Beautiful', where he paints himself as a hateful cretin in the shadow of a lover's goodness, and 'Brassneck', where the horrors of the Hillsborough disaster are used to provide depth to two thieves.
  
  I'm not sure is the best place to start with Armitage. I'd say 2019's Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic is the greatest way into his cadence. But once/if you're in, there's no way this will disappoint.
• 
  Pollyana

  Read for uni. Pretty blokey sometime, but real smart structure and imagery.
• 
  Hannah

  Favourite poems:
  - Kid
  - About His Person
  - Mother, Any Distance
  - Killing Time #2
  - You’re Beautiful
  - Out Of The Blue
  - Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster
• 
  Charlotte E.E. Griffiths

  Paper Aeroplane: Poems 1989-2014 was my first experience of Simon Armitage's work. Assigned as a reading task at uni to a student studying writing but specialising in poetry; I could not have been gladder than to study this collection of poetry.
  Written over the years of Armitage's career, this collection of poems captures human experience as a whole; a collection of memories, ideals and anecdotes from varying ages and stages of life combined. With no prior experience of such a current and refined poet, I found Paper Aeroplane a breeze to get into, with themes pertaining to all aspects of everyday life and everything laced with multiple meanings - relatable with such a pleasure. As someone with high standards for poetry, I was awestruck.
  Since reading this collection of poetry, I have found a great deal of respect for Armitage's writing and more so for his "How to write Poetry: Checklist" shared on The Guardian, which helped connect some of those dots in regard to his poetry as a whole. I definitely recommend this book for any poetry lovers, regardless of what style you're into - it seems he has a knack for any kind - and more so recommend giving his article a read to help understand his process and, as a result, his work, better. This is a great first-time experience of Armitage's writing/poetry and speaks volumes for his craft and honest voice in all stages of his life. For a collection of this size and consistency to come from such a modern poet, we must all pay our respects to this CBE!
  To have a legend like this still living; I could not be happier to be alive.
• 
  Cat

  A solid collection- full of some absolute gems.
  
  Personal favourites:
  - "I am very bothered when I think..." (Book of Matches)
  - "Meanwhile, somewhere in the state of Colorado..." (Killing Time)
  - The Shout (Universal Home Doctor)
  - A Vision (Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid)
  - Excerpt from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
  - All of In Memory of Water
  - Paper Aeroplane (The Unaccompanied)
  
  Excited to read more of his work in the future, especially his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in its entirety.
• 
  Tynnika

  I haven't rated because I loathe poetry and my biased review would be unfair to Armitage's work. Had to read for uni this semester and it was a challenge.
• 
  Gareth Culshaw

  brilliant. real poetry. possibly the next poets laureate?
• 
  Matilda

  Look, it wasn’t terrible, but the only reason I read this was for my contemporary literature course. I quite liked the poem ‘The Christening’. I absolutely HATED ‘My Heart’.
• 
  Domhnall

  The language is clear and accessible. Some of the poems are very nicely written and pleasing, not least a selection describing water in its different aspects, as snow, rain, mist, dew, puddle, beck. Many more held striking lines or passages. A few seemed deep and intimate. Several samples from his translations of old English writing (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Death of King Arthur) were impressive enough to suggest buying the full work and he exploited that archaic writing style in a very clever parody, included in this book, locating Homer’s Underworld in a modern branch of Poundland. Some poems were disconcerting and even surreal. Some speak from within the mind of a criminal: a pick pocket, a murderer, possibly a psychopath. In several he writes as a soldier.
  
  These poems are not after all entirely clear or accessible; they just seem to be. They work on different levels at the same time and certainly it is worth the effort to investigate them. I could not unravel them without assistance and the internet turns out to be replete with material; lots of people have an opinion and some are pretty negative. Type in ‘Simon Armitage’ and expect to lose whole days reading the results. Biographical information is, as expected, a good start. It really is critical for example to know that he wrote some of his poems using his notes of interviews with prisoners, soldiers and others, often women, in effect giving their authentic voices a fresh avenue of expression through his poetry. One source in particular that I appreciated was just a list of his collaborations with the BBC, of which there are many, just because it established that this is a writer with a heavy workload, taking on challenging and very diverse projects, collaborating with other artists and working to imposed constraints, often producing poetry to be heard – perhaps sung - rather than read, sometimes within a film or a play. That source led me astray to buy and read Black Roses, The Killing of Sophie Lancaster,
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
  which is brief enough but very powerful, and also to discover a YouTube video of Songbirds, which is strong stuff. Both demonstrate a very clear social or even political commitment.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMGt4...
  
  I got most help from another book, Simon Armitage by Ian Gregson; he brings a theoretical framework through which to consider the work critically. The poems respond well to analysis and comparison with other poets; they do not break under scrutiny. Gregson’s book itself, I have to admit, becomes rather dense and lost me in some of its more refined abstractions.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
  
  This rush to read Armitage, and to read about him, was in preparation for a live reading of his own work, for which I had obtained a golden ticket by good fortune. The main interest at that event came from some remarks he made about his poems as he went along. For example he was told by one reviewer that his book “Seeing Stars” (from which there is a selection in this volume) was not really poetry at all. In reply, Armitage said that poetry can be written in any style whatsoever, and he was therefore quite proud to have discovered a way of writing that could be called ‘not-poetry’ with such confident authority.
  
  It is quite possible and reasonable to read this selection for pleasure and enjoy its diversity; it is far more accessible, more fun and more interesting than the average. It is possible also to explore it in depth, and the poetry is strong enough to withstand even a serious critical analysis. This is essential reading but always enjoyable.
• 
  Graham

  This book is best read with a pencil. Firstly to underline phrases to steal in your own poetry, secondly to mark those which you will share at your book club, and thirdly to mark those poems which left you a bit confused or bedding more explanation.
  The early poems left me a bit cold, the later ones resonated with me better. Poetry collections are somewhat of a buffet, and whilst there will be choice bits you go for and stuff your face with, other dishes might appeal less so, or disagree with your tummy later.
  Not the fault of chef, or poet, just the way taste buds, or ears, respond.
  I liked most of the poems in this book, and some I shall return to at a later date.
• 
  Alicia

  While it took me a little while to get through this collection, and I didn't enjoy every single poem, the poems that stood out to me really stood out, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Some of my favourites included: Paper Aeroplane, The Practical Way To Heaven, You're Beautiful, On Marsden Moor, and To His Lost Lover. I enjoyed the little shoutouts to the Northern way of life - the mention of Vimto and Poundland was far more amusing to me than it probably should've been. There were a few poems I thought missed the mark - to me, at least, as I'm sure they could've been other people's favourite - but overall I enjoyed reading it.
• 
  Anna Elena

  Read for school
  
  I enjoyed this and liked how some of the poems evoked such a strong image of England (UK? Britain? Idek)
  I guess I’m just not that experienced with reading poetry so I found some of them hard to read, in that I felt like I had to really dedicate time to dissect each line. I did enjoy that though, it made the reading experience more analytical and interesting.
  Favourites were “The Stuff” and “Poem”.
• 
  Liv Dunford

  Studied this for a uni course and honestly have not laughed harder while reading a collection of poetry. Armitage is brilliantly sardonic and provoking (and completely hilarious). The specificity of his description makes even something as mundane as a water droplet seem utterly ethereal, which is where (for me at least) the power in his writing comes from. 10/10 will definitely be going back to reread.
  
• 
  John Dolan

  'Paper Aeroplane' is a great introduction to the poetry of Simon Armitage. It sets out well the breadth of his work - sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always thought-provoking. Armitage is a deservedly popular poet, with a feeling for the cadence of language and a deep understanding of the emotion of words. Even folks who are usually turned off by poetry will find things to enjoy here.
• 
  Jessica Slater

  Poem on p. 97 was my favourite on this read, from ‘Killing Time’.
  Two boys from Colorado who buy every flower under the sun to shower their school in gifts and decoration.
  
  ‘As for the two boys, it’s back to the same old debate:
  is it something in the mind
  that grows from birth, like a seed, or is it society
  makes a person that kind?’