Hello all! Rusty Sonnets is leaving Soundcloud. It's been a while since I posted and it simply isn't worth paying about eighty pounds a year to keep it running. That said, it should still be available on other platforms and I will also be uploading it to archive dot org where it should hopefully remain in perpetuity. Apologies to anyone that still listens on SoundCloud, but again, you should be able to listen elsewhere. Once I have uploaded the episodes to archive I will post the link here in this episode description and on the landing page. Cheers, Niall.

It’s been a while but Rusty Sonnets sneaks in a final track for 2020. This episode looks at the angsty Dover honeymoon of the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold.

This week’s Rusty Sonnets marks the fourth episode of our monthly Paradise Lost Book Club. Always wanted to read Paradise Lost but felt the great tome was a little bit too daunting? Well, let’s all read it together. We’ll be looking at one book(chapter)every month until we finish with Book 12 in December. You can listen to the other parts here: soundcloud.com/rustysonnets/sets/paradise-lost-book-club

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

This week’s Rusty Sonnets marks the third episode of our monthly Paradise Lost Book Club. Always wanted to read Paradise Lost but felt the great tome was a little bit too daunting? Well, let’s all read it together. We’ll be looking at one book(chapter)every month until we finish with Book 12 in December. You can listen to the other parts here: https://soundcloud.com/rustysonnets/sets/paradise-lost-book-club

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

This week’s Rusty Sonnets marks the second episode of our monthly Paradise Lost Book Club. Always wanted to read Paradise Lost but felt the great tome was a little bit too daunting? Well, let’s all read it together. We’ll be looking at one book(chapter)every month until we finish with Book 12 in December. You can listen to part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/rustysonnets/rusty-sonnets-paradise-lost-book-club-part-1

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

On this week's Rusty Sonnets we look into George Eliot's musing of the selfless "bubble world" in her unpublished poem, I Give You Ample Leave. I then end the podcast by instructing the listener in how to experience Douglas Harding's Headless Way.

Are you enjoying Rusty Sonnets? You can support my work by buying me a coffee via my Ko-Fi account: https://ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

This week’s Rusty Sonnets marks the first episode of our monthly Paradise Lost Book Club. Always wanted to read Paradise Lost but felt the great tome was a little bit too daunting? Well, let’s all read it together. We’ll be looking at one book(chapter)every month until we finish with Book 12 in December.

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

Welcome to our late Christmas episode of Rusty Sonnets! Today we look at the Jesuit martyr Robert Southwell and his nightmarish vision of the spirit of Christmas Day. Yes, I know that Christmas was an eternity ago but it’s not like I’m getting paid for this! Tune in next week for the first monthly instalment of the Paradise Lost Book Club.

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

In this week’s Rusty Sonnets we look for optimism from a seemingly unexpected source, the pessimistic poet and novelist, Thomas Hardy.

00.00 Intro and background

10.12 Song of Hope by Thomas Hardy

11.19 Analysis

32.04 W.O.O.O!!!

If you enjoy the podcast you can buy me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/niallosullivan

In today’s Rusty Sonnets we ask whether virtue can accompany poverty by visiting the witty, down to earth poetry of Oxford’s first postmistress, Mary Jones.

0.00 Intro and background

07.35 Soliloquy on an Empty Purse by Mary Jones

09.50 Analysis

37.23 W.O.O.O!!!