Ep. 4 Simon Barnes on the joy of birdwatching

Simon Barnes describes the joy of birdwatching, reading in a post from his own blog.

The Chair of 2020's Keats-Shelley Prize is the writer, journalist and nature writer Simon Barnes - an ideal choice given our Prize theme of Songbird. This marks 200 year anniversaries of John Keats' Nightingale and PB Shelley's Skylark.

We met Simon in London to discuss why (and how) birds sing, how to 'spot' birds and (trickier still) birdsong, their links with Romantic poets in general, and Keats and Shelley in particular, and the many threats to their continued existence.

We are thrilled that Simon has also agreed to Chair 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes - and complete the work that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

For more information about Simon Barnes visit: simonbarnesauthor.co.uk

For more information about 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry and Essay Prize, click here.

For more information about 2021's Young Romantics Poetry and Essay Prize, click here.

You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends

This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape’ by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

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To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, click here.