Readings from the Pavilion End

Today is Monday, where some might begin with fresh resolve to start the week doing things right. We might take inspiration from the subject of today's poem, Charles Augustus Fortescue. Mutton fat for supper, anyone? Carpe diem cras – seize the day tomorrow.  Find the poem here . 

In this episode, Bill writes from the Pavilion End. Listen to his case for why Joe Root might just be England's greatest batter. Find the full essay on the blog: https://billpavilionend.com/joe-root-englands-greatest-batter/

Mitchell was a journalist, playwright and protest poet committed to Nuclear Disarmament. The subject of this poem are the vast reserves of body bags stored up in anticipation during the Cold War for millions of fatalities. Angela Carter described him, a “joyous, acrid and demotic tumbling lyricist Pied Piper determinedly singing us away from catastrophe.” Find the poem here . 

This sensuous poem is the final work in Keats's '1819 odesto' - recall the Nightingale from Season 1, Episode 5 . The abundance of autumnal harvests is set against an undercurrent of unease and transience. Notice how the florid descriptions of nature is set against the formal rhetoric associated with odes. This also poem marks the poet's own autumn as he succumbed to tuberculosis in 1821 at just 2...

We are nearing the end of September - alas! Today's poem is an extract that reminds us of how mysterious life is. The opening lines of the poem, not narrated in this episode is 'Animula, vagula, blandula' or, 'Charming little soul, hastening away' purportedly attributed to a dying Emperor Hadrian.  Read the full poem and a commentary here . 

Today's poem is a dense and complex work written at the beginning of WWII. Composed of 99 lines, it addresses the bleakness of war and violence, ancient and modern, and responds to the threat of annihilation through an eerily tidy structure. A poem that Auden would try (and fail) to revise, describing it as "infected with an incurable dishonesty", it nonetheless continues to resonate 85 years late...

We begin season 2 with a chat from the Pavilion End from the insightful Imran Khwaja (International Cricket Council). We have a wide ranging discussion, beginning from his love for cricket to issues like the effects of inequality of membership statuses on elite performance, and musings on the future of test cricket. Enjoy!

Prospero addresses Ferdinand and Miranda's after their wedding masque. The temporary revelry of the masque is compared to the fleetingness of life. It is commonly interpreted as an autobiographical reflection on the temporality of Shakespeare's own theatrical career as, based on scholarship, the play was his last solely conceived play. Find the text and a short commentary here . 

In celebration of Singapore's National Day, we're bringing you something a bit different today: a cheeky narrative poem by the legendary children's writer Roald Dahl. He offers a twist on the classic tale, adding his signature wit and dark humor. As we take a day off to celebrate Singapore's birthday, with red proudly displayed on the flag, enjoy this delightful retelling. Find the full poem here...

Today is a Sea Sunday, where we remember the seafarers who make so many of our modern day conveniences possible. We've got a classic British poem today, by John Masefield (1878-1967) who was English Poet Laureate from 1930-1967 and published Sea-Fever in 1902. Listen to the way the poem propels readers forward, as if calling us to join him to go along to the seas too! Find the full poem here . 

Today's poem was recorded in May 2020, a tongue-in-cheek request from Sarah to little Josh who would be about four now. Find the full poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48419/this-be-the-verse

Today's poem is a well-known but often misinterpreted piece. Interestingly, the poem was written after Robert Frost took a walk with Edward Thomas. Coincidentally, we've just published a poem by Thomas in Episode 8 ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken ).  Find the poem here: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

Today we have a special interview with the legendary former cricketeer Abbas Ali Baig. https://billpavilionend.com/you-must-remember-this/

Today's poem was written many Junes ago, after a train journey taken by Edward Thomas in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. Thomas enlisted in 1915 and was killed in 1917, before his collection of poems was published. Find the full poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53744/adlestrop

This episode features an essay written in August 2017 on Why We Watch Cricket . For cricket and not-yet-cricket fans alike. 

Today's poem was recorded on May 6, 2020. It was a birthday dedication to Margaret. Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57306/never-give-all-the-heart

Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44479/ode-to-a-nightingale This was a request from Joanna. 

This post was written in April 2024, when English cricket lost one of its great performers in the left-arm spinner Derek Underwood. Read the post and other essays on cricket on the Pavilion End blog .   

This is part 2 of a 2-part episode recorded in May 2020, during the Covid pandemic. It is an extract from travel writer Jan Morris's 'Venice'.  Morris was born in 1926 of a Welsh father and an English mother. She is a travel writer and author of several books. https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571168972-venice/

Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud   This is part 1 of a 2-part episode, recorded during the Covid pandemic in May 2020. 

Find the poem and a commentary here: https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/the-arrest-of-oscar-wilde-at-the-cadogan-hotel To contact me for requests, visit //billpavilionend.com/contact/

Find the poem and a commentary here: https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/naming-of-parts To contact me for requests, visit https://billpavilionend.com/contact/

Hello! Welcome to Readings from the Pavilion End, a podcast featuring poetry and occasionally prose, and even cricket, by me, Bill Ricquier.  https://billpavilionend.com/contact/