Poetry

Ep. 31 Is this how John Keats would have sounded reading Bright Star?

Is this how John Keats would have sounded reading his great sonnet Bright Star?
Dr Ranjan Sen has a better idea than most. A scholar specialising in phonology and phonetics at the University of Sheffield, Ranjan researched how English was spoken in the early 19th century (not least

Ep. 29 Winner of 2022’s Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize: ‘December Moth outside a care-home window’

The winner of 2022's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'December Moth outside a care-home window' by Susan Holland. 
Fiona Sampson writes: ‘This poem is full of linguistic relish and brilliant imagery, with some really exceptional phrase-making including the last line’s ‘glowing impassable threshold.’ Intense, almost forensic observation creates a rich study of will and intention.’
Susan lives on Kintyre, where she wrote the poem. She kindly agreed to to read the poem down the phone, which I hope only adds to its poignancy and power. 
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Ep. 27 Fiona Sampson reads and discusses Shelley’s Hymn to Intellectual Beauty (Part 1)

Our guest on this episode of the Keats-Shelley Podcast is the poet, biographer and critic Fiona Sampson - who is also Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes. 
Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists
Read 2022's Young Romantics Prize shortlists
Our conversation begins with Fiona reading her favourite Shelley poem, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty - which inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood. This forms the basis of our discussion, which roams freely to ponder issues including: the importance of reading aloud; what is 'Intellectual Beauty'; and what does it mean for an atheist like Shelley to write a hymn? Fiona Sampson the poet unravels the sound patterns of Shelley's verse and compares the 'Hymn' to its sister-poem, Mont Blanc. Fiona Sampson the biographer tells the story of the poem's composition and the infamous summer without a summer of 1816, which also inspired Mary Shelley to begin Frankenstein. 
Part 2 of the conversation will follow.
Read more about Fiona Sampson here.
Buy a copy of Starlight Wood here.

Ep 26 Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Hymn to Intellectual Beauty read by Fiona Sampson

To mark the bicentenary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death on 8th July 1822, Fiona Sampson reads her favourite Shelley poem: Hymn to Intellectual Beauty. 
Read Hymn to Intellectual Beauty here.
Fiona is an acclaimed poet, biographer of Mary Shelley and, last but not least, Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize.
Read more about Fiona Sampson at the Keats-Shelley Prize page.
A phrase from Hymn to Intellectual Beauty inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood, which follows in the footsteps of several Romantic artists, writers and poets (including Shelley) across the 19th century countryside.
Find out more about Fiona Sampson's Starlight Wood.
We will post Fiona's discussion of the poem in the coming weeks.

Ep. 25. Erica Jong talks about her life, career and why she loves John Keats

At the end of 2020, the Keats-Shelley Podcast spoke to Erica Jong, the bestselling novelist, feminist icon and poet. In fact Erica was a poet before she was a novelist, publishing two poetry volumes making her name with 1973's Fear of Flying. While fiction has dominated her literay output, she has continued to release poetry throughout her 50 year career. 
Indeed, the inspiration for our own conversation was a poem she wrote in 1975: 'Dear Keats', which we found while researching John Keats' epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water' during 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes (Erica's poem quotes the line for her own purposes). 
Part of the interview has already appeared: Erica offered some writing advice to our Young Romantics. 
We are sending the full audio version to Friends of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association before releasing to the general podcast public later in 2022. 
You can learn more about Erica Jong at www.ericajong.com
The Keats-Shelley Podcast is hosted by James Kidd. The music is 'Androids Always Sleep' By Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/
For more about 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes visit:
Young Romantics Prize 2022
Keats-Shelley Prize 2022 
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Ep. 23 Winner of 2021’s Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize: in the kelp forest by Katrina Naomi (read by Deryn Rees-Jones)

The winning poem of 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'in the kelp forest' by Katrina Naomi, read here by our Poetry Judge Deryn Rees-Jones. 
Click here for more about Katrina and 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize.

Ep. 22 Winner of 2021’s Young Romantics Poetry Prize: ‘A Craftsman‘s Tale‘ by Eustacia Feng (read by Will Kemp)

The winning poem of 2021's Young Romantics Poetry Prize is 'A Craftsman's Tale' by Eustacia Feng, read here by our Poetry Judge Will Kemp. 
Click here for more about Eustacia and 2021's Young Romantics Prize.

Ep. 17 Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s sonnet for John Keats read and discussed by Dinah Roe

In this mini Keats-Shelley Prize Podcast, Dr Dinah Roe reads and discusses two poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti that quote John Keats' epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'. The first was also a sonnet ('John Keats'); the second a fragment included in a letter to the other Rossetti brother, William Michael.

Ep. 16 Readings: This Living Hand and Where be ye going, you Devon maid by John Keats

On 23rd February 2021, the 200th anniversary of John Keats' death in Rome, the Keats-Shelley Prize Podcast recorded a conversation with Dr Dinah Roe about Christina Rossetti's sonnet 'On Keats', which quotes his epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'.

Ep. 15 Writ in water, lemon juice or invisible ink? Adam Smyth examines John Keats‘ epitaph as material text.

What does it mean to writ(e) in water? And even more, what does it mean to write 'writ in water' on stone? Or is that in stone? These are all questions raised by John Keats' epitaph, 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'. Which is why the Keats-Shelley Podcast called Adam Smyth, Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford, and an expert in Material Texts: or the study of people writing with weird things on weird surfaces.

Ep. 13 John Keats’ Bright Star read by heart with analysis

John Keats writing his last poem 'Bright star' on the Maria Crowther is one of the great myths of the poet's tragic last months. Inspired by retracing Keats' Final Journey on Google Earth, we ask: what if were true? How might it change our reading of one of his greatest sonnets? As part of our limbering up, we learned the poem by heart and recorded the results...

Ep. 12 Reading: John Keats‘ ‘In drear nighted December‘

Reading and discussion of John Keats' 'In drear nighted December'. From a Twitter Advent calendar for 2020 to mark the launch of 2021's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes.
Read the poem here.