This week's poem is one of exile and family dysfunction. André Naffis-Sahely has always been a poet who attempted to document the lives of people who fell victim to tragedy and as a result seemed to slip through the cracks of society. It just so happens that in this case it is his own mother.

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 Train 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 Amber by Eavan Boland. It is a poem that speaks to the joy and pain of remembering a lost loved one through the objects they've left behind. It showcases Boland's talent for imagery and the fluidity of movement and experience she became famous for.

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 Illuminations 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 Men are Weeping in the Gym by Andrew McMillan, a poem that looks at the devastating effects that toxic masculinity and body image issues can have on whole generations of men. The poem draws from historical movements like muscular Christianity and leaves the reader feeling as though they've been punched in the gut.

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.

Race and oppression were always at the heart of Gwendolyn Brooks and this particular poem was a watershed moment for her career. A poem brimming with necessary destructive energy and an homage to creativity in all it's forms.

Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43322/boy-breaking-glass

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.

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.