The Keats-Shelley Podcast

Is this how John Keats would have sounded reading his great sonnet Bright Star?

Dr Ranjan Sen has a better idea than most. A scholar specialising in phonology and phonetics at the University of Sheffield, Ranjan researched how English was spoken in the early 19th century (not least ----more----by a London Cockney) for the cyber-resurrection of John Keats organised by Oxford's Institute of Digital Archaelogy in 2021. 

• Read Bright Star here.

The full conversation will be posted in the coming days. For now, listen to this trailer in which Ranjan reads Bright Star as he believes Keats would have. Enormous thanks to Ranjan. 

• Listen to James Kidd read and discuss Bright Star here.

In the second part of our conversation with Fiona Sampson, who chaired 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes, we discuss the joys and the challenges of reading Shelley, Keats and the Romantics in general in 2023. ----more----

• Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists

Fiona also continues her discussion of her favourite Shelley poem Hymn to Intellectual Beauty and how it inspired her new book, Starlight Wood. She ends by revisiting her highly-praised biography of Mary Shelley. 

Read more about Fiona Sampson here.

Buy a copy of Starlight Wood here.

The winner of 2022's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'December Moth outside a care-home window' by Susan Holland. 

Fiona Sampson writes: ‘This poem is full of linguistic relish and brilliant imagery, with some really exceptional phrase-making including the last line’s ‘glowing impassable threshold.’ Intense, almost forensic observation creates a rich study of will and intention.’

Susan lives on Kintyre, where she wrote the poem. She kindly agreed to to read the poem down the phone, which I hope only adds to its poignancy and power. 

• Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists

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Listen to an audio version of Fiona Sampson announcing the winners of 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes.----more----

Enormous thanks to Fiona for all her work - and for recording the announcement while recovering from Covid. 

• Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists

Our guest on this episode of the Keats-Shelley Podcast is the poet, biographer and critic Fiona Sampson - who is also Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes. 

• Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists

Our conversation begins with Fiona reading her favourite Shelley poem, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty - which inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood. This forms the basis of our discussion, which roams freely to ponder issues including: the importance of reading aloud; what is 'Intellectual Beauty'; and what does it mean for an atheist like Shelley to write a hymn? Fiona Sampson the poet unravels the sound patterns of Shelley's verse and compares the 'Hymn' to its sister-poem, Mont Blanc. Fiona Sampson the biographer tells the story of the poem's composition and the infamous summer without a summer of 1816, which also inspired Mary Shelley to begin Frankenstein. 

Part 2 of the conversation will follow.

Read more about Fiona Sampson here.

Buy a copy of Starlight Wood here.

To mark the bicentenary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death on 8th July 1822, Fiona Sampson reads her favourite Shelley poem: Hymn to Intellectual Beauty. 

• Read Hymn to Intellectual Beauty here.

Fiona is an acclaimed poet, biographer of Mary Shelley and, last but not least, Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize.

• Read more about Fiona Sampson at the Keats-Shelley Prize page.

A phrase from Hymn to Intellectual Beauty inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood, which follows in the footsteps of several Romantic artists, writers and poets (including Shelley) across the 19th century countryside.

• Find out more about Fiona Sampson's Starlight Wood.

We will post Fiona's discussion of the poem in the coming weeks.

At the end of 2020, the Keats-Shelley Podcast spoke to Erica Jong, the bestselling novelist, feminist icon and poet. In fact Erica was a poet before she was a novelist, publishing two poetry volumes making her name with 1973's Fear of Flying. While fiction has dominated her literay output, she has continued to release poetry throughout her 50 year career. 

Indeed, the inspiration for our own conversation was a poem she wrote in 1975: 'Dear Keats', which we found while researching John Keats' epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water' during 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes (Erica's poem quotes the line for her own purposes). 

Part of the interview has already appeared: Erica offered some writing advice to our Young Romantics. 

We are sending the full audio version to Friends of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association before releasing to the general podcast public later in 2022. 

You can learn more about Erica Jong at www.ericajong.com

The Keats-Shelley Podcast is hosted by James Kidd. The music is 'Androids Always Sleep' By Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

For more about 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes visit:

Young Romantics Prize 2022

Keats-Shelley Prize 2022 

You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend.

Follow us on Twitter

2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes are open. Our poetry theme this year is Elegy - to mark the bicentenary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death in 1822, and also the composition of Adonais, his elegy for John Keats, the year before. 

To mark the launch of the Prizes, we remixed Mick Jagger's recitation of Adonais at Hyde Park in 1969 with our own lovely podcast theme music: ‘Androids Always Escape’ by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Most of the effects are attained from looping or sampling. Jagger's own voice. We hope he - and more to the point Shelley - approves. 

Listen here or watch our trailer for the Prizes at either of the Prize pages on our website.

Young Romantics Prize 2022

Keats-Shelley Prize 2022 

You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend.

Follow us on Twitter

Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.

The winning poem of 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'in the kelp forest' by Katrina Naomi, read here by our Poetry Judge Deryn Rees-Jones. 

Click here for more about Katrina and 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. ----more----

Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify.

You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend.

Follow us on Twitter

Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.

The winning poem of 2021's Young Romantics Poetry Prize is 'A Craftsman's Tale' by Eustacia Feng, read here by our Poetry Judge Will Kemp. 

Click here for more about Eustacia and 2021's Young Romantics Prize.

----more----

Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify.

You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend.

Follow us on Twitter

Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.