This week I take a look at the poem Shooting Script 1987 by Inua Ellams. The poem is a dissection of the way in which race and culture inform our sense of identity but more importantly the way in which a race or culture can be misrepresented by media.

Find the poem here: https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/a-shooting-script-1987/

The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

The music in this weeks episode is Hiraeth by Scott Buckley and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Halloween is upon us and so I chose three poems to send a shiver down your spine and take a look at what makes them so memorable.. They are:

This Living Hand by John Keats

All Hallows by Louise Gluck

Samhain by John Montague

I hope it makes your Halloween just a touch eerier.

The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Fog by Sergey Cheremisinov and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: : http://www.s-cheremisinov.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at Eye Contact by Caroline Bird. It's a poem of pain and haunting in intimate relationships, with a dash of the surreal and Victorian gothic thrown in or good measure. I look at the way in which Bird uses metaphor and analogy to navigate the pains of the heart and raise difficult questions as to whether people can be free of their pasts.

The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Northern Lullaby by Sergey Cheremisinov and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: : http://www.s-cheremisinov.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Memory of the Northern Irish poet Derek Mahon, who passed away last week, I took a look at his poem Derry Morning. Over the course of the episode I look at the way in which the poem investigates and dissects the effect that war and conflict can have on an area.

The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is October by Kai Engel and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: : https://www.kai-engel.com/content-id

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem Dido to Aeneas by Barbara Guest. As a poet Guest tends to create pieces and verse of extreme beauty her language is a decadence all it's own. Often, she will choose to forgo obvious meaning in favour of a kind of lyrical tapestry. What I hope to show in this episode is that, despite this, her work resonates deeply with the human condition.

The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Gray Drops by Kai Engel and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: : https://www.kai-engel.com/content-id

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem Chronos by Nick Laird. Laird crafts a poem which all at once combines the gravitas of the classics with jarring modern flair. He touches on the universal theme of raging against time, which is a well worn path in the realm of poetry. That being said he still manages to make the theme uniquely his own.

The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Gray Drops by Sergey Cheremisinov and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: : http://www.s-cheremisinov.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem Home by Starlight by Paula Meehan. I'll be focusing on how Meehan uses the ancient history of Ireland to create a poem of lament for a lost time and lost knowledge. More importantly I'll examine how she uses her own knowledge of Irish custom and society to create a specific type of feminism for her country.

The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Static by Scott Buckley and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem What Work Is by Philip Levine. I'll be focusing on how Levine tried his best to present the working classes in a new and dignified light, how he used an economy of language and love of physical description to engage his listen then, most importantly, how he examined the toll intense labour and poverty had on the human condition.

A copy of the poem can be found here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52173/what-work-is

The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

or by email : [email protected]

The music in this weeks episode is Solace by Scott Buckley and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem The Honey Bear by Eileen Myles, I'll look at how Myles is able to capture the essence of any given moment of her life in sparse yet intense verse. How changing identity and milestone moments often give way to intense reflection.

Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54619/the-honey-bear

The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

The music in this weeks episode is Life is Easy by Scott Buckley and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I take a look at the poem Somewhere I Have Never Traveled, Gladly Before by E.E. Cummings. I focus on how the poem encapsulates, not only the hallmarks of his style, but also how much he had grown throughout his career. This one has a little bit of everything: Paganism, Romanticism, life and death.

The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/

You can get in touch with me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wordsthatburnpodcast/

The music in this weeks episode is Undertow by Scott Buckley and is used under creative commons license. Enjoy his music here: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.