Welcome to 2024 and a new episode of the Rippling Pages. Rachel Mann is a poet, scholar, novelist and Anglican priest. She is Rachel Mann is here to talk about her new collection, Eleanor Among the Saints (Carcanet), which takes inspiration from the life of Eleanor 'John' Rykener. A trans woman, seamstress, embroider, and sex worker who lived in medieval England.

More info about the book here

This is Rachel's second collection after Kingdom of Love (also Carcanet - and which I reviewed here!)

The book is a Poetry Book Society recommendation and you kind find tickets to her launch here.

Tickets to the Carcanet launch of the book here: https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/events?showpage=913

This show comes with a content warning - we do talk about some sensitive topics, such as domestic violence, so please do take care of yourself when listening.

5.05 - Poetry and embroidery

8.03 - What Eleanor's story,  and Rachel's poetry, tells us about embodiedness

11.45 - Society and Eleanor's story

14.54 - How details about Eleanor's life helped in writing the collection.

18.30 - 'Violence' in craft and the writing process.

21.45 - How themes of violence and the body converge in Rachel's poems.

28.20 - 'Fear' of working with heavy and sensitive topics

Reference Points

Umberto Eco