Today’s episode features poets R. A. Villanueva and Fathima Zahra. They each retell a traditional story of a powerful female figure, imagining Penelope before her wedding to Odysseus, and recounting the tale of Keralan resistance figure, Nangeli. Joining host Eleanor Penny, they read their poems and discuss how they explore the silences and erasures around how we remember women in story and history.
 
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Three: Every Small Catastrophe

A poetry podcast about the power of myth and the politics of storytelling

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

The final episode of our current series explores myths of creation, with poets Anthony Anaxagorou and Chloe Elliott joining our host Eleanor Penny. Chloe gives her interpretation of the ancient Chinese story of Pan Gu, the first living creature, who was trapped inside an egg with the forces of Yin and Yang. Meanwhile Anthony reimagines Cypriot myths about the creation of Cyprus’ Pentadaktylos, or five-fingered, mountain.
If you’ve enjoyed the series, you can buy the book Bedtime Stories from the End of the World which is available from all good bookshops, or by following the link on our website at endoftheworldpodcast.com
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Nine: In The Beginning

This week we have an unusual episode of Bedtime Stories as two poets each provide different reimaginings of the same traditional story. Poets Nina Mingya Powles and Maggie Wang join our host Eleanor Penny to each present their versions of the story of Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon. They explore the story itself, and discuss the connection between loneliness and womanhood, represented in Chang’e’s exile on the Moon.
 
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Eight: Hunger Moon

Joining Eleanor Penny this week are poets Antosh Wojcik and Alice Frecknall. They have chosen to reimagine stories from the Victorian and Edwardian era, which themselves drew on traditional tropes. Antosh reads and discusses his take on AH Wratislaw’s The Spirit of a Buried Man; while Alice draws inspiration from JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, to explore aging and memory.
 
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Seven: Sleepless

This episode welcomes Vanessa Kisuule and Jack Bigglestone who have each revived a millennia-old monster. Jack lands the mythical figure of the Basilisk in contemporary life, whilst Vanessa retells the Ugandan myth of the first man Kintu, and the mysterious death-like figure of his brother-in-law Warumbe. They join our host Eleanor Penny to share their reinterpretations and discuss their approaches.
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Six: Not Some Small Villain

This week, poets Mona Arshi and Amara Amaryah join Eleanor Penny to discuss their reinterpretations of traditional stories. Mona imagines the experience of one of Scheherazade’s unfortunate predecessors, a young woman sent to marry the Emperor and meet her death in the Arabian Nights. Amara meanwhile explores the historical figure Queen Nanny of the Maroons, an eighteenth century Jamaican leader who led a guerilla war against the slave-owning, colonial British rule; allegedly involving supernatural powers.
 
Find out more, listen to all our poems and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com
Follow us for updates on Twitter or Instagram: @goodbyeworldpod

Episode Three: Every Small Catastrophe

Download our free app to listen on your phone