A Voice Like This

For the final episode of the year, A Voice Like This presents a complete reading of A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas . A seasonal favourite, Thomas’s lyrical memoir captures the sights, sounds, and small moments of a Welsh childhood at Christmas; snow-filled streets, family rituals, and voices that linger long after the season has passed. This episode is offered simply and in full, wit...

A Visit from St. Nicholas As Christmas approaches, this special bonus episode invites a quiet moment of calm amid the winter bustle. Phil offers a gentle reflection on the season before reading 'A Visit from St. Nicholas', the beloved poem more commonly known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. A festive pause, a breath of stillness, and a timeless story that continues to shape the magic of Chris...

What does it mean for love to last? Not the rush of feeling, or the drama of declaration, but the quieter, steadier work of trust. The kind that’s built carefully, tested over time, and strong enough to stand without constant reassurance. In this episode, we explore love as something enduring and unshaken, through two poems that speak across centuries. Seamus Heaney’s Scaffolding offers a grounded...

Featuring “I Dream a World” by Langston Hughes and “The Human Family” by Maya Angelou In this uplifting episode of A Voice Like This , we explore two poems that imagine a gentler world and celebrate the ties that bind us together. Langston Hughes dreams of a future shaped by justice, kindness, and shared humanity. Maya Angelou reminds us that in all our differences, we are still deeply alike. Toge...

In this deeply personal episode, we pause to reflect on the quiet power of a life well lived — and the everyday moments that shape who we become. At the request of my niece Joanne, and in loving memory of my sister Tracy, I read The Dash — a poem that reminds us how profoundly the small choices of our days define the legacy we leave behind. To accompany it, I share Mary Oliver’s The Summer Day , a...

Poems featured: “Dust of Snow” by Robert Frost “The Orange” by Wendy Cope “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski In this lighter, brighter episode of A Voice Like This , we turn our attention to the small joys -the sparks, glimmers, and brief flashes of warmth that can shift an entire day. Robert Frost offers a tiny moment of unexpected wonder. Wendy Cope celebrates the quiet delight found in so...

This episode marks a time of remembrance. We pause to honour those who gave their lives in war — and to reflect on the truth that lies behind the words honour and glory . John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” has become almost inseparable from remembrance itself — a poem of beauty and resolve, written in the shadow of the Great War. Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” answers that call with the voi...

As autumn deepens and the light fades earlier each day, we begin to measure time in quieter ways. Light & Time brings together two voices - Shakespeare and Vaughan - who, across centuries, reflect on what it means to age, and what lies beyond the boundaries of time itself. In Sonnet 73 , Shakespeare offers one of the most intimate meditations on aging ever written - not in fear, but with accep...

Bonfire Night — the spark of rebellion, and the quiet wonder that follows. Every November, the night sky in Britain crackles with memory; a celebration of rebellion and the light that follows it. Fire & Freedom explores both sides of that spark: the defiant blaze of revolution, and the quiet wonder of beauty born from fire. We begin with Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Masque of Anarchy, a thundero...

This Halloween season, A Voice Like This takes a seat by the fire — and invites in two unquiet guests. From the rhythmic unease of a ghost that isn’t there , to a love so still it defies life itself, this special episode explores the shadowed edge of the human mind — where affection becomes obsession, and absence feels almost alive. Featuring readings of: “Antigonish” by Hughes Mearns “Porphyria’s...

In this episode, Phil Rowe explores two timeless reflections on the passage of life — Dylan Thomas’s nostalgic “Fern Hill” and Robert Herrick’s carpe diem classic “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” Thomas’s lyrical remembrance of childhood radiates joy and innocence — until time itself steps forward, gently reclaiming that golden youth. Herrick’s poem, written three centuries earlier, looks i...

Episode 15: Fears and Fire Poems: When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be — John Keats & Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night — Dylan Thomas There’s a shadow that walks beside us all — the quiet reminder that our time is finite. Some poets choose to face that truth with trembling hands; others meet it with clenched fists and flame in their hearts. In this episode, Fears and Fire , two voices...

 Some poems are written in fire — words that refuse to bow, even in the darkest of moments. Others remind us that life isn’t just about endurance, but about pausing, noticing, and letting stillness in. In this episode of A Voice Like This, I read two poems that seem to stand at opposite ends of the spectrum, yet together find a perfect balance. Strength and stillness. Grit and grace. Perhaps...

Not every poem has to be serious. Sometimes, it’s enough for the words to rattle, bounce, and carry us along for the ride. In this episode of A Voice Like This , I start with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Windy Nights — a short, stormy gallop through the dark. Then we turn to Edward Lear’s The Jumblies , where nonsense reigns and adventure begins with the simple idea of sailing off in a sieve. There’s...

Podcast: A Voice Like This Hosted by Phil Rowe In this episode, Phil explores two very different – but equally powerful – expressions of love in poetry. From Shakespeare’s immortalised summer’s day to Carol Ann Duffy’s brutally honest onion, we discover how love can be idealised, subverted, celebrated… and sliced open. These poems remind us that love isn’t just a feeling — it’s a form, a voice, an...

Two poems, two very different takes on what love looks and feels like. From Shakespeare’s immortal “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to Carol Ann Duffy’s onion-wrapped metaphor in Valentine , this episode unwraps the poetic layers of romance, tenderness, and truth. Whether you’re a lover, a cynic, or somewhere in between, this one’s for you.

In this episode, Phil Rowe explores two quiet yet profound reflections on death — and what it means to those left behind. We begin with Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson, a poem that invites us to consider death not as something to fear, but as a calm and curious companion. Then we move to Song (When I am dead, my dearest) by Christina Rossetti, whose measured tenderness offers...

In this episode of A Voice Like This , Phil Rowe reads three powerful reflections on transience, legacy, and loss. Together, they explore the question: What truly endures when all else fades? “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley “Dirge Without Music” by Edna St. Vincent Millay Whether it’s a season, a statue, or someone dearly loved, these poems hold a mirro...

Sometimes, it’s not the moment itself—but what follows—that lingers the longest. In the next episode of A Voice Like This , we reflect on change, memory, and the quiet traces we leave in the world around us. Three short but stirring poems guide us through the ache of farewell, the transience of pride, and the defiance of grief. 🎧 Listen Monday: Episode 10 – What We Leave Behind Wherever you get y...

Episode 9 – The House You Carry Two poems exploring the quiet refuge we carry within. Featuring: Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare – a listener request The Lake Isle of Innisfree by W.B. Yeats A reminder that love, stillness, and self-worth can be found not in far-off places, but deep within us. New episodes every Monday.

In this episode, Phil Rowe brings together two powerful poems that speak to the burden and beauty of being human. One poem is beloved. The other, more quietly known. One, fierce with instruction. The other, still with truth. Together, they offer a reflection on how we carry ourselves through the world — and what we pass on. Join Phil as he explores the unspoken tension between advice and acceptanc...

In this quietly resonant episode of A Voice Like This , Phil Rowe brings together two poems that speak to the art of paying attention — to ourselves, and to others. First, Derek Walcott’s Love After Love offers a tender invitation to reconnect with the self we’ve lost sight of. Then, Dylan Thomas’s In My Craft or Sullen Art reflects on the solitary work of the poet — creating not for recognition,...

In this quietly resonant episode of A Voice Like This , Phil Rowe brings together two poems that speak to the art of paying attention — to ourselves, and to others. First, Derek Walcott’s Love After Love offers a tender invitation to reconnect with the self we’ve lost sight of. Then, Dylan Thomas’s In My Craft or Sullen Art reflects on the solitary work of the poet — creating not for recognition,...

This week, two very different worlds unfold. Wendell Berry offers stillness — a moment away from the noise, where the natural world holds us gently. Then Yeats pulls us back into chaos — his apocalyptic vision of a world unravelled, where the centre cannot hold. New episodes every Monday , each just a few minutes — just the poems, spoken with care. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whereve...

Next week on A Voice Like This , we start with stillness… and end in something else entirely. New episodes every Monday , each just a few minutes long, just the poems, and a little time to chill. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.