Readings from the Pavilion End

Today's poem is a translation of Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert's The Power of Taste. Herbert, who lived through both Nazi occupation and communist rule, understood how far-reaching and oppressive authoritarian regimes were. This poem offers a sharp critique of the vulgarity of totalitarianism, suggesting that an aesthetic sensibility, the pursuit of beauty and dignity, can be an effective form of d...

Bill's comments on the fourth and final day of the Galle test in Sri Lanka. Tell us what you think of the series, and find more cricket related writings on the blog . 

Bill reports live from Day 3 in Galle, Sri Lanka, an intriguing day.

Bill reports live from Day 2 in Galle, with Australia finishing in 'complete command' - Australia 330-3. A splendid partnership between Smith and Carey.   

Bill reports live from the Galle Test in Sri Lanka.

We complete the final half of the Byzantium poems which was published a few years after Sailing to Byzantium (which can be found in  Season 4 Episode 6) . If in Sailing, Yeats aspires to become immortalised into a golden bird, a work of art, the spell seems to break in Byzantium as night falls agonisingly. The speaker is surrounded by eerie, nightmarish images of death-in-life and life-in-death. I...

Today we have the first of two canonical poems by W.B. Yeats that form the 'Byzantium poems'. Sailing to Byzantium, dated 1927, was written in the later years of his life and crystallises the poet's 'persistent longing for spiritual redemption through the timelessness of art' (David A. Ross, Critical Companion to William Butler Yeats: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work).  The poem is sensuo...

24 January was the 60th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill. Today, Bill reads from Bernard Levin's "The Pendulum Years: Britain in the Sixties". Extracts describing the impact of Churchill's decline and his grand state funeral in 1965 gives us a glimpse of a passing era.  For a visual accompaniment, take a look at this article: Winston Churchill's funeral - in pictures  

In this episode, Bill reflects on Men's Test Cricket in 2024, reflecting on what made 2024 such a special year for the sport.  For more essays and commentaries, visit https://billpavilionend.com/

Today's poem is a humerous, nonsensical narrative poem from chapter four of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1871). The poem is recited to Alice by Tweedledum and Tweedledee who ignores her request for help to get out of the woods. The poem tells the story of a walrus and a carpenter who were walking along the beach. They encounter a group of oysters and lure them into joining them for a...

The first poem reading for 2025 comes from a Victorian poet, Arthur High Clough. He was relatively unknown save for this one poem which then Prime Minister Winston Churchill quoted in a speech in February 1941, and was part of the literary exchange between Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.  The poem speaks of the universal struggle against light and darkness, progress and retreat and urges the...

We're starting a new season and a new year with an op ed on The Border-Gavaskar Trophy: The Real World Test Championship.   In this piece, Bill explains the history and fierce competition between Australia and India, two of the most celebrated teams in Test cricket. From Australia's early dominance since the 19th century to India's transformative victories in the 1970s and beyond, recounting pivot...

It is Christmas Day today and the final edition of this year's literary Advent calendar. A Christmas Carol is a familiar Victorian classic by Charles Dickens following the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who receives a visit from the ghost of his former business partner and three Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. Bill received a lovely illustrated version of this for...

Today's poem was first published as a pamphlet in 1927 as a commission by Faber & Gwyer, the first of T.S. Eliot's contributions to a series entitled 'The Aerial Poems' . The series paired an unpublished poem by a leading writer with new artwork from an eminent artist. Thomas Hardy, Siegfried Sassoon, Barnett Freedman and John Nash were among the contributors to the first set, which broadly ca...

If you are still wondering about what to bring to the Christmas Potluck, how about a Shrimp Tree, dressed to impress? This recipe was found in a 1966 edition of Gourmet Magazine. Interestingly, in the same year, the Florida Department of Natural Resources also distributed a similar recipe card to encourage the use Florida seafood products in their holiday meal planning. Intro music: Santa's Lunchh...

This poem was recorded in 2023, shortly after the death of British poet Benjamin Zephaniah. No surprises that he was also a vegan : be nice to yu turkeys dis Christmas! Intro music: Santa's Lunchhour, DeeYanKey, Free Music Archives

Today's poem was written in 1942 by American poet Ogden Nash. It is about a child, not born in Bethlehem but Baltimore. All ye who sneer at Santa Claus, beware and take heed from this cautionary tale of Jabez Dawes .  Intro music: Santa's Lunchhour, DeeYanKey, Free Music Archives

Today's poem is richly descriptive of familiar Christmas tropes like snow, silver bells, presents in neat setsets only to bring us to the sobering question of the Christmas story: is it true, is it true? Betjeman leaves us to wonder alongside in the Divine Mystery of it all.  Intro music: Santa's Lunchhour, DeeYanKey, Free Music Archive

Today's poem was first published on Christmas Eve in 1915, when WWI was well underway and would continue to 1918. The poet recalls an old folk tradition in which oxen were said to kneel at midnight to mark the birth of Christ, whilst finding in himself only a faint hope and nostalgia for simpler times.  Intro music: Santa's Lunchhour, DeeYanKey, Free Music Archives

This one is for the kids, naughty and nice: a cautionary tale about a little girl who will not be receiving presents this Christmas. Find the poem here.  You might also enjoy Season 2 Episode 7 .  Intro music: Santa's Lunchhour, DeeYanKey, Free Music Archives

Today, a vivid portrayal of Christmas around a sea-town corner in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Emerging from an earlier piece written for BBC Radio in 1952, the work recalls Christmas from the perspective of a young boy. Here in busy Singapore, it is Sunday, a good day to savour this scene from long ago and far away. Find the text here .  Intro music: HolyNight Lo-fi, Hozlina (FreeMusicArchives)

Today's poem is dreamy and romantic, for Anita, whose birthday was celebrated yesterday on 5 December. Find the full poem here .  Intro music: Holizna Holy Night Lo-fi (Free Music Archive)

Today's poem was published in January 1920, one of e e cummings' earliest published works. As with many of cummings' poetry, it is best visualised on a page to appreciate its playful and deceptively simple construction. Take a look and find a commentary here .  P.S. Spread the cheer, share this with your friends! Intro: Santa's Lunch hour (Dee Yan-Key, Free Music Archive)

Count down to Christmas with an Advent calendar of readings. Today's poem is by Wendy Cope, after a child said, "If you don't have a real tree, you don't bring the Christmas life into the house." Hear Cope's narration here . P.S. We don't all have the luxury of a real tree, but this podcast is free so share it with your friends! Intro: Santa's Lunch hour (Dee Yan-Key, Free Music Archive)

Today's conversation is with the esteemed Nirgunan Tiruchelvam discussing the merits of two of the greatest spin bowlers of all-time, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne. Read also 'Clash of the Titans' on the blog.