The Keats-Shelley Podcast

Is this how John Keats would have sounded reading his great sonnet Bright Star? Dr Ranjan Sen has a better idea than most. A scholar specialising in phonology and phonetics at the University of Sheffield, Ranjan researched how English was spoken in the early 19th century (not least ----more----by a London Cockney) for the cyber-resurrection of John Keats organised by Oxford's Institute of Digital Archaelogy in 2021.  Read Bright Star here. The full conversation will be posted in the coming days. For now, listen to this trailer in which Ranjan reads Bright Star as he believes Keats would have. Enormous thanks to Ranjan.  Listen to James Kidd read and discuss Bright Star here.

In the second part of our conversation with Fiona Sampson, who chaired 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes, we discuss the joys and the challenges of reading Shelley, Keats and the Romantics in general in 2023. ----more---- Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists Read 2022's Young Romantics Prize shortlists Fiona also continues her discussion of her favourite Shelley poem Hymn to Intellectual Beauty and how it inspired her new book, Starlight Wood. She ends by revisiting her highly-praised biography of Mary Shelley.  Read more about Fiona Sampson here. Buy a copy of Starlight Wood here.

The winner of 2022's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'December Moth outside a care-home window' by Susan Holland.  Fiona Sampson writes: ‘This poem is full of linguistic relish and brilliant imagery, with some really exceptional phrase-making including the last line's ‘glowing impassable threshold.' Intense, almost forensic observation creates a rich study of will and intention.' Susan lives on Kintyre, where she wrote the poem. She kindly agreed to to read the poem down the phone, which I hope only adds to its poignancy and power.  Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists Read 2022's Young Romantics Prize shortlists Susbscribe to 

Listen to an audio version of Fiona Sampson announcing the winners of 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes.----more---- Enormous thanks to Fiona for all her work - and for recording the announcement while recovering from Covid.  Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists Read 2022's Young Romantics Prize shortlists  

Our guest on this episode of the Keats-Shelley Podcast is the poet, biographer and critic Fiona Sampson - who is also Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes.  Read 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize shortlists Read 2022's Young Romantics Prize shortlists Our conversation begins with Fiona reading her favourite Shelley poem, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty - which inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood. This forms the basis of our discussion, which roams freely to ponder issues including: the importance of reading aloud; what is 'Intellectual Beauty'; and what does it mean for an atheist like Shelley to write a hymn? Fiona Sampson the poet unravels the sound patterns of Shelley's verse and compares the 'Hymn' to its sister-poem, Mont Blanc. Fiona Sampson the biographer tells the story of the poem's composition and the infamous summer without a summer of 1816, which also inspired Mary Shelley to begin Frankenstein.  Part 2 of the conversation will follow. Read more about Fiona Sampson here. Buy a copy of Starlight Wood here.  

To mark the bicentenary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death on 8th July 1822, Fiona Sampson reads her favourite Shelley poem: Hymn to Intellectual Beauty.  Read Hymn to Intellectual Beauty here. Fiona is an acclaimed poet, biographer of Mary Shelley and, last but not least, Chair of 2022's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read more about Fiona Sampson at the Keats-Shelley Prize page. A phrase from Hymn to Intellectual Beauty inspired the title of Fiona's new book, Starlight Wood, which follows in the footsteps of several Romantic artists, writers and poets (including Shelley) across the 19th century countryside. Find out more about Fiona Sampson's Starlight Wood. We will post a discussion of the poem and Shelley in the coming weeks.

At the end of 2020, the Keats-Shelley Podcast spoke to Erica Jong, the bestselling novelist, feminist icon and poet. In fact Erica was a poet before she was a novelist, publishing two poetry volumes making her name with 1973's Fear of Flying. While fiction has dominated her literay output, she has continued to release poetry throughout her 50 year career.  Indeed, the inspiration for our own conversation was a poem she wrote in 1975: 'Dear Keats', which we found while researching John Keats' epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water' during 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes (Erica's poem quotes the line for her own purposes).  Part of the interview has appeared: Erica offered some writing advice to our Young Romantics.  We are sending the full audio version to Friends of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association before releasing to the general podcast public later in 2022.  You can learn more about Erica Jong at www.ericajong.com The Keats-Shelley Podcast is hosted by James Kidd. The music is 'Androids Always Sleep' By Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ For more about 2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes visit: Young Romantics Prize 2022 Keats-Shelley Prize 2022  You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

2022's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes are open. Our poetry theme this year is Elegy - to mark the bicentenary of Percy Bysshe Shelley's death in 1822, and also the composition of Adonais, his elegy for John Keats, the year before.  To mark the launch of the Prizes, we remixed Mick Jagger's recitation of Adonais at Hyde Park in 1969 with our own lovely podcast theme music: ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Most of the effects are attained from looping or sampling. Jagger's own voice. We hope he - and more to the point Shelley - approves.  Listen here or watch our trailer for the Prizes at either of the Prize pages on our website. Young Romantics Prize 2022 Keats-Shelley Prize 2022  You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.  

The winning poem of 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize is 'in the kelp forest' by Katrina Naomi, read here by our Poetry Judge Deryn Rees-Jones.  Click here for more about Katrina and 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. ----more---- Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.

The winning poem of 2021's Young Romantics Poetry Prize is 'A Craftsman's Tale' by Eustacia Feng, read here by our Poetry Judge Will Kemp.  Click here for more about Eustacia and 2021's Young Romantics Prize. ----more---- Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.

On 15th July 1821, 19-year-old Maria Cotterell died in Naples of consumption. Her name may well have been forgotten if she hadn't sailed to Italy on the Maria Crowther, alongside 24-year-old John Keats. In this episode, we tell Maria's story - including new discoveries about her death, her brief encounter with Keats and her treatment by posterity. ----more---- Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. You can read a fuller version of this episode in the latest edition of the Keats-Shelley Review. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The K-S Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.

We talk to Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger about his life and career - and more specifically, his love of John Keats. The inspiration for our conversation was Mark's monumental 2018 work Writ in Water, which commemorated the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. ----more---- Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast or Follow us on Spotify. But Mark also discussed his broader love of literature (above all James Joyce), his wonder at Ode to a Nightingale, the challenges of being an artist (not least during Covid).Mark also offers advice to young artists, asks why no one sees UFOs anymore, and considers the portrayal of the art world in movies. He even reads an original poem - stay tuned to the very end.  Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Links Read more about Mark Wallinger. Writ in Water National Trust press release and video BBC video including aerial film Article on Situations Art Fund Blog article Art Society Feature Sinema Amnesia Guardian article about Sinema Amnesia 2010 Video about Sinema Amnesia 2012 in Maidstone You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme.  

In this episode of our 'Writ in Water' series, the Keats-Shelley Prize Podcast talks to Nicholas Stanley-Price about the 300-year history of the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome.----more---- Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. For poetry lovers, this is the place where both John Keats and PB Shelley are buried, not far from their friends Joseph Severn and Edward Trelawny, and also Shelley's 3-year-old son, William.  But the Cemetery's story is far longer and broader than that of these Romantic graves, which is why Nicholas is the perfect guide to steer us from its origins in Testaccio to its modern history in 21st century Rome, from Keats' funeral to the vexed question of what to call the Protestant/Non-Catholic/Acattolico Cemetery/Cimitero. After a career which included high level posts at UNESCO, ICCROM (International Conservation Organization, Rome) and the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, Nicholas settled in Rome and joined the Cemetery's Advisory Committee. He has written two books about its 300-year history: The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome and The Graves in Rome of Keats and Shelley.  We talked on the bicentenary of Keats' funeral on 26th February 1821. I began by asking Nicholas about another bicentenary commemoration: the memorial service that marked the 200th anniversary of Keats' death, which took place at the Cemetery only a few days earlier. We rewound rapidly to explore the history of Testaccio in general and the Cemetery in particular before focussing on John Keats himself. Nicholas narrated the events of Keats' funeral, before tracing the grave's slow rise in prominence as a place of pilgrimage. Having noted some famous early visitors - Charles Dickens, George Eliot and Henry James - we conclude by outlining the challenges facing the Cemetery in 2021 - Covid, conservation and how to balance its purpose as an active place of burial with its attractions as a tourist site.  Please support the Non-Catholic Cemetery by becoming a Friend, or by buying Nicholas's books available only via their website.  Subscribe to the podcast for all new episodes.   Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

How did John Keats influence Christina Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelites? In this episode of our Writ in Water series inspired by John Keats' epitaph – ‘Here lies one whose name was writ in water' – we talk to Dr Dinah Roe about Christina Rossetti, her sonnet 'On Keats' - and more widely about how Keats influenced the Pre-Raphaelite artists. This includes her brothers, Dante Gabriel and William Michael, fighting over who was better - Keats or Shelley? ----more---- Subscribe to the podcast for all new episodes.     This episode was was recorded on 23rd February 2021, the bicentenary of Keats' death in Rome. Click here for more on Dinah Roe. Listen to Dinah read and discuss Dante Gabriel Rossetti's own ‘Writ in Water' sonnet, ‘John Keats'  Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize Texts. ‘On Keats' by Christina Rossetti This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

In this mini Keats-Shelley Prize Podcast, Dr Dinah Roe reads and discusses two poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti that quote John Keats' epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'. The first was also a sonnet ('John Keats'); the second a fragment included in a letter to the other Rossetti brother, William Michael. ----more---- Our brief chat touched on Dante Gabriel's aspiration to out-Cockney John Keats in the rhyming department. This turned our attention to Betty Askwith's Appendix (literary Appendix that is) in her biography of Keats which asked: did Keats speak with a Cockney accent?   Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Visit the Keats-Shelley Blog for more Prize Resources, including poems, articles and podcasts. Texts.  'John Keats' by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 'Writ in Water' fragment by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Subscribe to the podcast for all new episodes.   Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

On 23rd February 2021, the 200th anniversary of John Keats' death in Rome, the Keats-Shelley Prize Podcast recorded a conversation with Dr Dinah Roe about Christina Rossetti's sonnet 'On Keats', which quotes his epitaph 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'.----more---- We finished around 10.30pm and to mark the occasion read two poems in Keats' honour: 'This living hand now warm and capable' and 'Where be ye going you Devon maid'. Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Visit the Keats-Shelley Blog for more Prize Resources, including poems, articles and podcasts. Texts. 'This living hand now warm and capable' by John Keats 'Where be ye going you Devon maid' by John Keats Subscribe to the podcast for all new episodes.   Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

What does it mean to writ(e) in water? And even more, what does it mean to write 'writ in water' on stone? Or is that in stone? These are all questions raised by John Keats' epitaph, 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'. Which is why the Keats-Shelley Podcast called Adam Smyth, Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford, and an expert in Material Texts: or the study of people writing with weird things on weird surfaces.----more---- Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast or Follow us on Spotify. We began by asking Adam to describe what a 'material text' might be, and what it means to study them. As well as telling us about poems written in glass and invsible ink (lemon juice to you and me), he cast an eye over Keats' epitaph, and pondered the fine distinction between writing 'in water' and 'on water'.  Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Visit the Keats-Shelley Blog for more Prize Resources, including poems, articles and podcasts. Texts. John Keats, Letter to George and Georgiana Keats, 28th June 1818 (scroll down).  John Donne, A Valediction of My Name in the Window. Abraham Cowley, Written in Lemon Juice.  William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Plate 14. Thomas Hardy, During Wind and Rain.  Fans of Tom Philips' A Humument: stay tuned to the very end of the podcast for a little lighthearted homage.  Subscribe to the podcast for all new episodes.   Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

At the end of 2020, James Kidd of the Keats-Shelley Podcast talked to bestselling novelist Erica Jong about her life-long love of John Keats.  During the conversation, which will be posted soon, we asked what advice she would give writers entering our Young Romantics Poetry and Essay competitions.  A small warning: there is one mild expletive (in reference to bad drafts) near the start.  For more information visit our Young Romantics page.----more---- For more information about Erica visit ericajong.com Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/  

John Keats writing his last poem 'Bright star' on the Maria Crowther is one of the great myths of the poet's tragic last months. Inspired by retracing Keats' Final Journey on Google Earth, we ask: what if were true? How might it change our reading of one of his greatest sonnets? As part of our limbering up, we learned the poem by heart and recorded the results... ----more---- Listeners of a sensitive disposition should beware. There is a reference and a reading of Aerosmith.  Click for info: 2021 Keats-Shelley Prize. Click for info: 2021 Young Romantics Prize.  To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/  

Reading and discussion of John Keats' 'In drear nighted December'. From a Twitter Advent calendar for 2020 to mark the launch of 2021's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes. Read the poem here.----more---- For more information visit: 2021 Keats-Shelley Prize. For more info visit: 2021 Young Romantics Prize.  To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/  

Reading and discussion of John Keats' first poem, 'An Imitation of Spenser'. This is embedded in our new Google Earth map: The Life, Times and Places of John Keats. ----more---- For more information visit: 2021 Keats-Shelley Prize. For more info visit: 2021 Young Romantics Prize.  To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/    

To mark the 200th anniversary of John Keats first setting foot on Italian soil on 31st October 1820 – his 25th birthday – the Keats-Shelley Podcast presents a podcast telling the story of his arrival in Italy means for us two centuries later. Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. ----more----We think about Keats and Italy, the Italian Keats, and the connections between his death and his fame. We think about elegies and epitaphs, about poems and pilgrims - about Joseph Severn and PB Shelley, Oscar Wilde and Christina Rossetti, the museum's wartime curator Vera Cacciatore and the young American soldier who was the first person to visit Keats' bedroom after the liberation of Rome in June 1944. Mostly we think about John Keats, his life, his death and the poetry that continues to inspire so many people across the world. This episode introduces a series that will tell the story of Keats' final months, John Keats' Dying Year. We will post the next episode early in November. Subscribe to our Podbean feed for future episodes.  Links to texts in this podcast ​​​​​​​PB Shelley's Adonais. Christina Rossetti's On Keats. Oscar Wilde's The Grave of Keats. Credits John Keats' Dying Year was written and presented by James Kidd. The music is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

Joyce Chen's Senbazuru won 2020's Young Romantic Poetry Prize. The poem was read by Dinah Roe, Reader in 19th Century Literature at Oxford Brookes University, as part of our online awards ceremony. ----more---- Listen to Dinah discuss Christina Rossetti's 'On Keats' as part of our 'Writ in Water' series. Follow her on Twitter @preraphsrule.  Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

Pascale Petit's Indian Paradise Flycatcher won 2020's Keats-Shelley Poetry Prize. The poem was read by Will Kemp, one of the Poetry Prize Judges, as part of our online announcement.----more---- Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube  

Part two of our conversation with Simon Barnes, the award-winning sportswriter, revered bird lover and Chair of 2020 and 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes. ----more---- Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast or Follow us on Spotify. In which Simon discusses the repertory singers that are skylarks and nightingales, how and why they sing (and does this make them sexy), whether Keats' nightingale could sing and fly - and does that spoil the poem?  After this, we move onto the extinction threats looming over both birds - not to mention the planet as a whole - and whether poetry can help sharpen our awareness of humankind's mortality?  Listen to Part 1 here. For more about Simon Barnes visit: simonbarnesauthor.co.uk Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast for all new episodes or Follow us on Spotify. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

Simon Barnes, the award-winning sportswriter, revered birder and Chair of 2020 and 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes, tells us about his love of birds and birding and why songbirds were so important to the Romantic poets.----more---- Read about 2021's Keats-Shelley Prize. Read about 2021's Young Romantics Prize. Subscribe to the Keats-Shelley Podcast or Follow us on Spotify. This conversation was inspired by 2020's Keats-Shelley Prize theme of Songbird.   Simon Barnes is unique in the world of literature. How many revered sports writers are also revered nature writers too? Off the top of my head I can think of one: Simon Barnes himself. For many years the chief sports of the Times, he covered seven Olympics, five World Cups, a Superbowl and the World Chess Championship. His profiles included everyone from David Beckham to Red Rum, his publications range from novels about Hong Kong to a biography about England off-spinner Phil Edmunds.  For more about Simon Barnes visit: simonbarnesauthor.co.uk What elevated Barnes above his peers was prose that could pithily encapsulate the drama simmering underneath the surface action: ‘With Sampras the beauty was subtle, the tactics and execution obvious. With Federer, it was exactly the other way around,' as he wrote in his 2018 career-spanning retrospective, Epic. As is shown by his reading from his excellent The Meaning of Birds, Barnes has brought similarly acute sensitivity to his accounts of the natural work - and of birds and birdsong above all.    This is one reason we approached Simon to be the Chair of 2020's Keats-Shelley and Young Romantics Prizes - for poetry and essays. Our annual theme was 'Songbirds', to mark the composition 200 years ago of PB Shelley's To a Skylark and the publication in book form of John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale.   Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by Becoming a Friend. This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

Bestselling sports journalist and nature writer Simon Barnes ponders one of Romantic poetry's big questions: what's the big deal with poets and nightingales? Reading from his book The Meaning of Birds, Simon examines nightingales in the poetry of John Keats and John Clare – and asks another question: which poet doesn't know his nightingale from his nightshirt?----more---- Simon Barnes was the Prize Chair of 2020's Keats-Shelley Prizes. The writer, journalist and birder was an ideal choice given our Prize theme of Songbird. This marks 200-year anniversaries of John Keats' Nightingale and PB Shelley's Skylark. For more information about Simon Barnes visit: simonbarnesauthor.co.uk The K-S Podcast met Simon in London to discuss why (and how) birds sing, how to 'spot' birds and (trickier still) listen to birdsong, their links with Romantic poets in general, and Keats and Shelley in particular, and the many threats to their continued existence. There was also some football chat. We are thrilled that Simon has also agreed to Chair 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes - and complete the work that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  For more information about 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry and Essay Prize, click here. For more information about 2021's Young Romantics Poetry and Essay Prize, click here. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, click here. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends This podcast was recorded by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/

Simon Barnes describes the joy of birdwatching, reading in a post from his own blog. ----more---- The Chair of 2020's Keats-Shelley Prize is the writer, journalist and nature writer Simon Barnes - an ideal choice given our Prize theme of Songbird. This marks 200 year anniversaries of John Keats' Nightingale and PB Shelley's Skylark. We met Simon in London to discuss why (and how) birds sing, how to 'spot' birds and (trickier still) birdsong, their links with Romantic poets in general, and Keats and Shelley in particular, and the many threats to their continued existence. We are thrilled that Simon has also agreed to Chair 2021's Keats-Shelley Prizes - and complete the work that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  For more information about Simon Barnes visit: simonbarnesauthor.co.uk For more information about 2021's Keats-Shelley Poetry and Essay Prize, click here. For more information about 2021's Young Romantics Poetry and Essay Prize, click here. You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends This podcast was written and presented by James Kidd. The KS Podcast theme tune is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, click here.

An older podcast, recorded in December 2014 beside the grave of John Keats. To commemorate the death of John Keats on 23 February 1821, @Keats_Shelley (James Kidd) shares some thoughts on Keats' epitaph: 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water.' Listeners of a sensitive disposition should beware: there is a reference to the TV show Cheers.----more---- The music is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

An older podcast, recorded in 2014 beside the grave of John Keats. To commemorate the death of John Keats on 23 February 1821, @Keats_Shelley shared some thoughts on Keats, death, life, cats, and poetry from beside his grave in Rome's Cimitero Acattolico. Oh, and one ambulance and one crying child...----more---- The music is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube

Poetry Reading by Heart: John Keats' To Autumn Seven years ago, Keats-Shelley Twitter (aka James Kidd) was challenged to learn and read John Keats' great ode To Autumn by heart. After days, and even weeks of work, of trying and failing, we eventually got from A to B, or from Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness to gathering swallows tweeting. Phew.----more---- The music is ‘Androids Always Escape' by Chris Zabriskie. Visit http://chriszabriskie.com/ To learn more about the Keats-Shelley House and our KeatsShelley200 Bicentenary programme, visit: https://ksh.roma.it You can support the Keats-Shelley House by becoming a Friend: https://keats-shelley.org/support/friends Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to us on YouTube Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Keats_Shelley