‘The Moon and The Zoo’: Simon Armitage poem celebrates 200 years of ZSL
Zoological Society of London commissions poet laureate for animation to mark its 200th anniversaryOver its two centuries, acclaimed writers and artists have found inspiration at London zoo, from Edwin Landseer’s Trafalgar Square lions, to AA Milne’s naming “Winnie” after resident…
By · April 20, 2026 · 1 min read
This article was originally published by
The Guardian World
and is republished here under license.
Zoological Society of London commissions poet laureate for animation to mark its 200th anniversary
Over its two centuries, acclaimed writers and artists have found inspiration at London zoo, from Edwin Landseer’s Trafalgar Square lions, to AA Milne’s naming “Winnie” after resident bear Winnipeg, and Sylvia Plath’s poem Zoo Keeper’s Wife.
Plath’s husband, Ted Hughes, who would become poet laureate, worked at the zoo briefly as a dish washer, an experience said to have helped fuel his inspiration for The Thought-Fox.
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