Words That Burn - Poetry Podcast

Who gives a voice to the displaced, the exiled, the lost? Someone who attempts to do so in every way is Nathalie Handal. In this poem, The Act of Counting , she takes us on a journey into the depth and breadth of loss that can be experienced by refugees and victims in the wake of cataclysms like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Within the poem we experience the slipstream of imagery that Handal has a...

This week I take a look at the poem Send No Money by Philip Larkin. It's a poem that focuses on many of the narratives given to us by society, the ways in which they are present and how, quite often, they can cause us to take a passive role in our own lives. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/ You can get in touch with me on...

This week I take a look at the poem  Inner Life by Ariana Reines. It is a poem that perfectly encapsulates the deeply personal kinetic style in which she writes her poem. It is a poem that will give you a new reference for anxiety and that will connect with anyone who has struggled to get through the day without thinking of someone. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can...

This week's poem is one of exile and family dysfunction. André Naffis-Sahely has always been a poet who attempted to document the lives of people who fell victim to tragedy and as a result seemed to slip through the cracks of society. It just so happens that in this case it is his own mother. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here:  https://wordsthatburnpod...

This week I take a look at the poem  Amber by Eavan Boland. It is a poem that speaks to the joy and pain of remembering a lost loved one through the objects they've left behind. It showcases Boland's talent for imagery and the fluidity of movement and experience she became famous for. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here:  https://wordsthatburnpodcas...

This week I take a look at The Men are Weeping in the Gym by Andrew McMillan, a poem that looks at the devastating effects that toxic masculinity and body image issues can have on whole generations of men. The poem draws from historical movements like muscular Christianity and leaves the reader feeling as though they've been punched in the gut. The show notes for today's episode, with full referen...

Race and oppression were always at the heart of Gwendolyn Brooks and this particular poem was a watershed moment for her career. A poem brimming with necessary destructive energy and an homage to creativity in all it's forms. Find the poem here:   https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43322/boy-breaking-glass The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here:  ht...

This week I take a look at the poem  Shooting Script 1987 by Inua Ellams. The poem is a dissection of the way in which race and culture inform our sense of identity but more importantly the way in which a race or culture can be misrepresented by media. Find the poem here: https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/a-shooting-script-1987/ The shownotes for today's episode, with full references c...

Halloween is upon us and so I chose three poems to send a shiver down your spine and take a look at what makes them so memorable.. They are: This Living Hand by John Keats All Hallows by Louise Gluck Samhain by John Montague I hope it makes your Halloween just a touch eerier. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here:  https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/ You can...

This week I take a look at  Eye Contact  by Caroline Bird. It's a poem of pain and haunting in intimate relationships, with a dash of the surreal and Victorian gothic thrown in or good measure. I look at the way in which Bird uses metaphor and analogy to navigate the pains of the heart and raise difficult questions as to whether people can be free of their pasts. The show notes for today...

In Memory of the Northern Irish poet Derek Mahon, who passed away last week, I took a look at his poem Derry Morning. Over the course of the episode I look at the way in which the poem investigates and dissects the effect that war and conflict can have on an area. The show notes for today's episode, with full references can be found here:  https://wordsthatburnpodcast.com/ You can get in touc...

This week I take a look at the poem  Dido to Aeneas by Barbara Guest. As a poet Guest tends to create pieces and verse of extreme beauty her language is a decadence all it's own. Often, she will choose to forgo obvious meaning in favour of a kind of lyrical tapestry. What I hope to show in this episode is that, despite this, her work resonates deeply with the human condition. The show notes f...

This week I take a look at the poem  Chronos  by Nick Laird. Laird crafts a poem which all at once combines the gravitas of the classics with jarring modern flair. He touches on the universal theme of raging against time, which is a well worn path in the realm of poetry. That being said he still manages to make the theme uniquely his own. The show notes for today's episode, with full ref...

This week I take a look at the poem  Home by Starlight by Paula Meehan. I'll be focusing on how Meehan uses the ancient history of Ireland to create a poem of lament for a lost time and lost knowledge. More importantly I'll examine how she uses her own knowledge of Irish custom and society to create a specific type of feminism for her country. The shownotes for today's episode, with full refe...

This week I take a look at the poem  What Work Is by Philip Levine. I'll be focusing on how Levine tried his best to present the working classes in a new and dignified light, how he used an economy of language and love of physical description to engage his listen then, most importantly, how he examined the toll intense labour and poverty had on the human condition. A copy of the poem can be f...

This week I take a look at the poem The Honey Bear by Eileen Myles, I'll look at how Myles is able to capture the essence of any given moment of her life in sparse yet intense verse. How changing identity and milestone moments often give way to intense reflection. Find the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54619/the-honey-bear The shownotes for today's episode, with full references...

This week I take a look at the poem Somewhere I Have Never Traveled, Gladly Before by E.E. Cummings. I focus on how the poem encapsulates, not only the hallmarks of his style, but also how much he had grown throughout his career. This one has a little bit of everything: Paganism, Romanticism, life and death. The shownotes for today's episode, with full references can be found here: https://wordsth...

What do I do? I make a podcast about poetry. How do I do it? Fifteen - Twenty minutes on one poem per week . Analysing it and breaking down why it's good . Why? To help people better understand a form of literature I feel is more accessible than it gets credit for. Mission : To promote the accessibility of poetry in a way that everyone can understand . To avoid elitism and academic language where...