'Hill-warded haven, creek well found...'

Joe takes a stroll in West Bay, Dorset and reads this little-known gem by William Barnes.

Locals at the beginning deserve their own show, what a double-act!

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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Four Larkin poems for my former teacher, mentor, and friend Mr. Pete Winfield. 

Poems: High Windows, Days, Church Going, An Arundel Tomb.

Miss you, Pete. 

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'

Joe takes a stroll to the theatre and discusses this summer sonnet by Shakespeare.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may...'

Joe talks about Carpe Diem, and Robin Williams.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Cut grass lies frail...'

Recorded last year originally for the Philip Larkin Society's 'Joe Riley Presents' mini-series.

A great lyric poem, best enjoyed in young-leafed nature.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Higher than the handsomest hotel...'

Joe has, through some tricky circumstances, been visiting a particular building and thinks you should wander the corridors with him.

If it doesn't come through in this episode: my absolute respect for all NHS staff that keep these buildings going, and especially to the good folk at University Hospital Southampton.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'The mower stalled, twice...'

I've been asked to mow the lawn this weekend.

Here's a throwback to late spring 2024, when I recorded my first sketch for the Philip Larkin Society. If you are a lover of Larkin, please check out their excellent podcast entitled 'Tiny in all That Air' here.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Let faxes butter-curl on dusty shelves...'

Joe rings in spring by sitting in a sunny space and reads this wonderful poem for turbulent times. 

Ros Barber kindly agreed to be interviewed about this poem and the second half is less a sketch and more a portrait of the poet herself, and how this superb poem came into being. 

Find more of her work here:

https://rosbarber.com/

Or follow her Substack: 

https://substack.com/@rosbarber

...and while you're at it:

https://substack.com/@thesketchpoet

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'I wander thro' each chartered street, near where the chartered Thames does flow

And mark in every face I meet, marks of weakness, marks of woe...'

Joe heads to the Big Smoke and speaks with John Riordan from the William Blake Society. You can find his work here: https://www.johnriordan.co.uk/ 

and join the William Blake Society here:

https://www.blakesociety.org

Many thanks to John and to the mystery American/Italian poet outside Blake's house.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
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'Whose woods these are I think I know...'

Happy 2025!

Get your coat, get your gloves, get your...horse. We're going for a very bracing journey through the wintery landscape of this lovely poem. 

Audio at the beginning from the Cohen Brothers' neo-Western masterpiece: No Country for Old Men.

Support the show

https://bsky.app/profile/sketchpoetry.bsky.social
Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
[email protected]