Tower Poetry 2017: I am a river

Peter McDonald, Vahni Capildeo and Sarah Howe discuss the 2017 Tower Poetry competition. Tower Poetry started in 2000 when a generous bequest to Christ Church, University of Oxford was made by the late Christopher Tower to stimulate an enjoyment and critical appreciation of poetr ... Show More

Annie Fan, second prize winner in the 2017 Tower Poetry competition, reads her poem Qianling Stele. 

Ella Standage, first prize winner in the 2017 Tower Poetry competition, reads her poem rosetta. 

Dr Anne Casey, a poet and writer teaches us the joy of poetry. 

Carmen Giménez’s poem “Ars Poetica” is a stunning waterfall of words, a torrent of dozens of short statements that begin with “I” or “I’m.” As you listen to them, let an answering cascade of questions fill up your mind. What does this series of confessions reveal to you about poe ... Show More

Do you agree that poetry is therapeutic? I do, so on this episode I will read to you some lovely poems on love & life. 

“You would’ve made a lousy nun.” The narrator of Diannely Antigua’s “Another Poem about God, but Really It’s about Me” overhears these words, and they jolt her into contrasting her life experience with the limited archetypes offered by her church — good daughter, good sister, hol ... Show More

Ada Limón joins Kevin Young to read “You Belong to The World,” by Carrie Fountain, and her own poem “Hell or High Water.” Limón is the current United States Poet Laureate and the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. She’s the author of six books—including “The Carrying,” ... Show More

Alice Oswald's final lecture as the English Faculty's Professor of Poetry. 

<p>Today’s poem is Two Shadows by Maurice Manning. </p><br/><p>The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. We’re taking a break this week, so we’re sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive. We’ll be back with new episodes on January 6, 2025. This episode was originall ... Show More