Wordsworth and De Quincy

Professor Andrew Bennett discusses the idea of authorship. 

How did Romantic writers represent ‘the self’? 

What is the impact of writing in different literary periods? 

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

Situated on the cusp of the Romantic era, Thomas Gray’s work is a mixture of impersonal Augustan abstraction and intense subjectivity. ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ is one of the most famous poems in the English language, and continues to exert its influence on contempo ... Show More

In Richard Langston’s poem “Hill walk,” he proffers a handful of things that move us over the course of a day — words said or read, notes played, the sight of halting steps taken by a sibling. We marvel at the sound of an unfamiliar bird call, but there’s a startling mystery to t ... Show More

Roses are red, violets are blue, has poetry ever been intimidating for you? For many people, this art form can feel unapproachable, but poet and educator Sarah Kay, suggests that people who don’t like poetry just maybe haven’t found a poem that really speaks to them. Sarah propos ... Show More

Poet Billy Collins joins Roxanne Coady to discuss his new collection, Musical Tables: Poems and the power and pleasure of the small poem. Buy Billy Collins books from RJ JuliaSign up for our podcast newsletterJust The Right Book SubscriptionPromo Code (15% off): PodcastEmail us a ... Show More

Whitman wrote several poetic responses to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He came to detest his most famous, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’, and in ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd’ Lincoln is not imagined in presidential terms but contained within a love elegy that atte ... Show More

Dr Mark Rawlinson explores the relationship between War and War Poetry using Owen's famous 'Preface' as the starting point. Dr Mark Rawlinson is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Leicester, working on nineteenth- and twentieth century literature, especially narr ... Show More

Today’s poem is The Gardener 85 by Rabindranath Tagore. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Poetry has a way of collapsing time, and by working the senses, having us experience an era. In the blues rhythms of Langston Hughes’ poetry, I hear e ... Show More

Poet Kathleen Jamie, whose tenure as Scotland's Makar, or National Poet, recently came to an end, talks about her new collection of poems written in Scots, The Keelie Hawk. Composer Helen Grime, soprano Claire Booth and author Zoe Gilbert chat about the world premiere of Folk, an ... Show More