Beetroot Podcast

We've come a long way to this day. Lottie and Marta will be welcoming Dolly Parton with open arms to today's epsiode. A country queen and literary philanthropist, we decided to place her upon the beetroot pedestal as a songstress and poet whom we're inspired by. Marta kicks off with not one, but two poems. Bringing Dolly's 'Jolene' alongside Fiona Apple's 'Ladies' we talk about sisterhood, the communion of women in the face of heart break and Queering the space our ex's occupy. Lottie takes Parton's 'Coat of Many Colours', detangling every thread and finding the complexities of wealth, youth - and of course, needlework. In the words of Dolly, "I've had heartaches, headaches, toothaches, earaches, and I've had a few pains in the ass, but I've survived to tell about it."

Today we’re going to talk about what’s on our lists and what’s in our poems. When we make lists, we export our universes onto the page – ticking off the tasks as we go, as we live. Lists for love, lists for art, and lists for getting through the day. Lottie brought along Wendy Cope’s ‘My Lover’ written in the style of Christopher Smart’s ‘For I Will Consider my Cat Geoffrey’ more than two hundred years later. Cope writes of love, the everyday kind and the sweep you off your feet kind – but always in tandem. Marta brought along Claes Oldenburg’s ‘I am for an Art’, a stirring manifesto for artists everywhere and a new way to think on what our art deserves and what deserves our art. Put this episode at the top of your to do list. 

It’s our anniversary dinner – and you’re all invited! We’re 4 years old? My time flies when you’re just two friends chatting about poetry – whether it's face to face or computer screen to computer screen. We reminisced in our archive and giggled over the sounds of us at aged nineteen. However, to mark such an occasion, we thought it was fitting to bring poems that celebrate poetry, that celebrate reading and poems that really remind us of why we do what we do. We’re so grateful to the handful of listeners who have tuned in over the years and promise to continue sharing our love of poetry for years to come. In this episode, we talk about poetry. Plain and simple. 

Reunited and rejuvenated! A summer spent apart and now they’re back, Lottie and Marta are in the same postcode at the same table. In this episode they go off the grid, deciding to abandon a themed episode in favour of – ‘You’ve got to see this!’.  Lottie brought along Natalia Shapero’s Not Horses prompting questions of time, interspecies connectivity and our patron saint, Donna Haraway. Marta brings an extract from Homer’s The Odyssey and contributes a tender reading of a mothers last words to her son. Grief time travels and the everyday implications of the epic are conjured by the voices of past and present. In hindsight, perhaps we do have ourselves a theme, storytelling – whatever they might tell us. 

Hello – us again: We encountered a couple of volcanic rumbles in our recording this week, we’d recommend putting away your headphones or enjoying the occasional audio bump. 

Till podcast do us part! Marta and Lottie are back, in this episode they'll be talking about heartbreak. Marta and Lottie (and their feelings) will dissect that funny sensation called heartache. Marta brought along Pablo Neruda's 'Tonight I Can Write' a poem renowned for its ability to hit the nail on the head of a broken heart. Lottie reads from Victoria Chang's collection 'Obit', a work of 70 obituaries that explore how and why we grieve through sense and madness. Take it easy this week, and if you're hurting - just know you're never alone.

Reunited at last! Marta and Lottie are in the same room, with the same zoom. In this episode it's all about the senses, Marta and Lottie dive head first into an ocean of taste, sound, sight, texture and smell. Lottie brought along 'My Body is a Forest' from Alycia Pirmohamed's collection Another Way to Split Water, a poem which holds the body in landscape allowing the speaker free movement through sensory recollection. Marta reads 'Orange Peels, Tectonic Shifts' from Erica Gillingham's pamphlet The Human Body is a Hive. A poem to align human bodily experience with shifting layers of the earth all tied up with a singular orange peel. This week you have a little piece of homework, so pay close attention. 

If anyone asks, we're a perfectly normal family. In this week's episode, Lottie and Marta ask; what does it mean to have difficult conversations with our loved ones, what lessons have we learnt so far from the people who've known us our entire lives. We don't get to choose our family, but what if we could? Lottie brought along 'Conversation with Fantasy Mother' by Mary Jean Chan, a poem that sets free the queer heart. Marta brought along 'Summer' by Robin Coste Lewis, a perfect poem for the rising temperatures and a reimagining of the mother and creation. Call your family, and tell them to give this one a listen. 

In this Episode, Marta and Lottie sit back and relax. Exploring the idea of rest the pair come to Ocean Vuong's 'Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong' a heartfelt appeal to the self when you're feeling a little low. Hannah Sullivan's 'When the Egg Meets the Whisk' portrays the new mother seeking familiarity and comfort in her newly aligned universe. World a little overwhelming right now? Take some time out with poetry. 

In this Episode, Marta and Lottie look to the skies. Approaching the idea of Paradise the pair consult Roger Robinsons 'A Portable Paradise' an offering of pocket sized bliss and white sandy beaches amongst the hustle and bustle of London. John Donne's 'The Sun Rising' offers a portrait of lovers against a perfect landscape watching the sun awaken and sleep, but why would Derek Jarman embellish such a poem onto his own house? Walk with us through the Garden of Paradise to find out. 

Poetry made headlines. Yes, it happened - rarely have we seen a poet on the cover of Vogue, shared widely around Instagram and Facebook or popping up on international TV stations. We of course had to dedicate an episode to Amanda Gorman, the youth national poet laureate of the United States and the Inaugural poet. Her poem 'The Hill We Climb' has since made its way around media outlets everywhere, has been translated into several languages and was published by Penguin Random House. In this episode we examine the inner workings of American democracy and culture through the only voice we should be listening to. What comes next?