Simon Armitage takes professorship at University of Sheffield

British poet Simon Armitage has taken up a post at the University of Sheffield, it has been announced.

The Huddersfield-born writer, whose works include The Not Dead and Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus the Corduroy Kid, will become Professor of Poetry in the university's school of English literature, language and linguistics from February 2011.

Armitage will contribute to the school's master of arts pathway in creative writing and work on the Storying Sheffield module, which involves students collecting stories from local residents about their lives in the city.

The writer said he is 'proud and excited' to become a professor at a university in his home region and praised the academic standards of the institution.

'I hope to bring my enthusiasm and passion for the art of poetry to the professorship and to put to use my experience as a teacher both in this country and abroad,' he commented.

Earlier this week, the BBC reported that Armitage has launched an ambitious project called Poetry Parnassus, which aims to bring more than 200 poets together during the 2012 London Olympic Games.