This poet and artist was born in Consett, County Durham and began writing aged just 13 during his time studying at a monastery in Shropshire. Famed for his amazing head of a hair and a regular at the Chelsea Arts Club, amongst Armstrong’s most poignant verses is one from his poem Who Am I in which he states: “I am the thin red line that will not yield, I am that far off corner of a foreign field, I am an Englishman!”
Two stories to keep beside you

Helena Matheopolous
Fluent in six languages, this Athenian was fashion editor of The Tatler and a columnist for The Times. Resident in London’s Knightsbridge, Matheopoulos has written a biography of King Juan Carlos of Spain and wrote Fashion Designers at the Opera in 2011. Her parties are known for being full of character and her presence always […]

Amor Towles
“Dry witted” investment banker turned bestselling modern-day F. Scott Fitzgerald-esque author Amor Towles is a civilised gent who has “led a life straight from one of his novels.”





Readers have their say
3 comments
Who Am I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mjNjGhKwms
Yes, John is a fantastic poet, we need more like him!
And by the way, I took that photo of him in the infamous
Restaurant ,”The Gasworks”
“The crown of literature is poetry. It is the sublimest activity of the human mind. It is the achievement of beauty and delicacy. The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes”. Somerset Maugham.
The gentleman sums it up beautifully for me.