Poet Laureate Confronts Cancer with New Commission for World Cancer Day
In a deeply personal and poignant move, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has broken his long-standing avoidance of the subject of cancer to pen a new work titled The Campaign. The poem was commissioned by Yorkshire Cancer Research to mark both World Cancer Day and the charity's significant centenary year, launching at an event in Leeds.
A Daunting Subject Confronted with Hope
Armitage admitted that cancer is a topic he has historically found intimidating, having lost friends and family to the disease. "I find it very daunting," he confessed. However, the commission forced him to engage directly with the realities faced by those affected. He saw his role as "slightly demystifying and maybe de-mythologising or de-demonising cancer a little bit to myself." His initial reaction was one of creative uncertainty, but he embraced the challenge, viewing the subject as a puzzle for which the poem would provide a solution.
Drawing Inspiration from Yorkshire's Community
To inform his work, Armitage visited the Yorkshire Cancer Research centre in Harrogate, where he met with 17 individuals from across the region. This group included researchers, families, fundraisers, and people currently living with cancer. "The thing that really galvanised everything for me was spending time at the centre," he reflected. "That was incredibly inspiring, very moving as well, and I think that's always the place where poetry wants to go to, to the emotional part." He was determined to avoid sentimentality, noting the palpable optimism and hope present during his visit.
The Power of Poetry in the Face of Illness
Among those he met was Gary Lovelace, a former headteacher living with stage four kidney cancer. Lovelace praised the poem's positive conclusion, particularly the line that turns 'Yorkshire' into a verb: "'we keep on Yorkshiring on' I thought was a really inspirational finish, and I found it powerful." He emphasised the emotional resonance of hearing Armitage deliver the work in his native Yorkshire dialect, bringing the words to life. Lovelace acknowledged that some may prefer tangible medical advances, but argued for the value of art: "we're all real people, we're all emotional people, what makes us feel good is good for us."
A Centenary Tribute with Historical Roots
Dr Kathryn Scott, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research, explained the commission was part of marking the charity's 100-year milestone with "something that is there in perpetuity, a real symbol of that milestone." The poem's central metaphor of a dragon is drawn from a historic 1926 speech by the charity's first honorary secretary, Sir Harold Mackintosh, who called upon Yorkshire to "become the new Saint George in the work of slaying the dragon" of cancer.
Poetry's Enduring Relevance in a Noisy World
Reflecting on the art form's place today, Armitage, who has been Poet Laureate since 2019, asserted that poetry is in "a very healthy place." He dismissed notions that younger generations are disinterested, stating, "they absolutely are... poetry has proved itself to be unkillable from the very beginning." In an era of constant information, he believes a carefully crafted poem offers unique value: "if you get a poem, which is one person saying something that they've thought about, and they really believe in, it becomes very valuable."
The Campaign: The Poem's Text
Because we famously speak as we find we said the word cancer out loud, called it a dragon, went looking for trouble and picked a fight. When it reared up in the liver we went into action, outflanked it, stoned it with tablets and pills. When it hid in the kidneys or blood we rootled it out, chased it into the open then shooed it over the hill.
Whenever it raised its serpent's head we slapped it hard in the mush with a giant charity cheque, baited it, lured it out of its lair then zapped it with photons, protons, compounds and hormones, messed with its atoms and cells till its forked tongue was tongue-tied, and tied its forked tail in knots.
When it hunkered down in the prostate gland or made a nest for itself in the bladder or bowel we caught it on camera, waylaid it with magnets, tracked and traced it across the body's ridings and wolds, through ginnels and snickets, then galloped against it with needles for lances, aimed wave after wave of invisible bullets into its bitter heart, bamboozled its dark soul.
When it perched on the breast we clipped its wings with skilful hands; when it smouldered and skulked in the lungs or roared with its fiery breath we drowned it with thousands of voices, tamed it with words and songs. When it tainted the skin with its presence we pierced its scales, punctured its plated hide, flummoxed it right to the core.
When it prowled in the mind we outfoxed it, killed it with kindness, ran rings around it with marathons, pram races, tea dances, car rallies, left it behind in the trolley dash, laughed in its face, stood shoulder to shoulder, held hands, linked arms, and flew a white rose on a flag wherever it fell.
But the job isn't over, the work isn't done; it broods and lurks in organs and genes, muscles in on our lives, so we push forward, keep slaying the dragon inside, keep Yorkshiring on.
