Podcasts about Bloodaxe Books

On the podcast this week, Mark Oakley reflects on “Paternoster” by Jen Hadfield. This episode was first broadcast in 2023 as part of the Church Times Poetry Podcast for Lent series. “Paternoster” is published in Jen Hadfield's collection Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), which won the T.S. Eliot Prize. We are grateful to Bloodaxe Books for giving permission to play a recording of Jen Hadfield reading the poem. https://www.bloodaxebooks.com The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Artwork by Emily Noyce Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On this month's episode, host Nicole Flattery is joined by writer Mary O'Donoghue to read and discuss Colm O'Shea's story, ‘Feeling Gravity's Pull', originally published as part of the Online Fiction series on The Stinging Fly website in October 2023. Mary O'Donoghue is the author of The Hour After Happy Hour (Stinging Fly Press, 2023). Her short stories have appeared in Granta, The Kenyon Review, The Stinging Fly, The Dublin Review, Banshee, The Georgia Review, Subtropics, The Common, and elsewhere. She has published poetry collections with Salmon Poetry and Dedalus Press and translations in dual language volumes from Cló Iar-Chonnacht, Bloodaxe Books, and Yale University Press. Her novel Before the House Burns was published by Lilliput Press in 2010. She is senior fiction editor at the literary magazine AGNI. From County Clare, she lives in Alabama. Colm O'Shea's work has appeared in gorse, The Vigilantia Anthology (Chroma Editions), Winter Papers, Sublunary Editions (Firmament), 3AM Magazine, The Tangerine, Fallow Mediaand others. He has also been broadcast on RTÉ radio (Keywords). He was a winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair in 2012, and won The Aleph Writing Prize in 2019. His debut work of experimental nonfiction is scheduled to be published by LJMcD Communications in 2024. Nicole Flattery is a writer and critic. Her story collection Show Them A Good Time, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers to choose a story from the Stinging Fly archive to read and discuss. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast's theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes', by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available to subscribers. ⁠Nicole Flattery⁠ is a writer and critic. Her story collection ⁠Show Them A Good Time⁠, was published by The Stinging Fly and Bloomsbury in 2019. Her first novel, Nothing Special, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. The Stinging Fly Podcast invites writers to choose a story from the Stinging Fly archive to read and discuss. Previous episodes of the podcast ⁠can be found here⁠. The podcast's theme music is ⁠‘Sale of Lakes', by Divan⁠. All of the ⁠Stinging Fly archive⁠ is available to ⁠subscribers.⁠

Poet Jessica Traynor talks about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Linda Gregg's All of it Singing, and Mary Ruefle as she explores growing as an artist, a time of loss, and the joy of mystery in poetry as she tells Ruth McKee which books she'd save if her house was on fire.   Jessica Traynor is the author of Liffey Swim (Dedalus Press), The Quick (Dedalus Press), and Pit Lullabies (Bloodaxe Books), and is the poetry editor of Banshee. Her forthcoming collection is New Arcana, which will be published by Bloodaxe Books.

Send us a textToday's show features conversation and poems from two poets with new collections: Katie Donovan, whose collection May Swim, is published by Bloodaxe Books, and Micheál McCann, whose debut collection Devotion, is published by Gallery Press.Both poets take on the Toaster Challenge, this time a Toaster Poem Challenge. Micheál' choce is Louise Glück's 'Sunset' from her collection The Wild Iris, while Katie chooses Pascale Petit's ‘Jaguar Girl.' from Mama Amazonica.Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry' from The Hare's Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it. Incidental musicScott Buckley, Emmit Fenn.Logo by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. Support the show

Today's poem comes from Matthew Hollis' remarkable collection, Earth House, which blends explorations of the four cardinal directions and original translations of Anglo-Saxon verse from the Exeter Book. Matthew Hollis was born in Norwich in 1971, and now lives in London. His debut Ground Water (Bloodaxe Books, 2004) was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread Poetry Award and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection; it was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. He is co-editor of Strong Words: Modern Poets on Modern Poetry (Bloodaxe Books, 2000) and 101 Poems Against War (Faber & Faber, 2003), and editor of Selected Poems of Edward Thomas (Faber & Faber, 2011). Now All Roads Lead to France: the Last Years of Edward Thomas (Faber & Faber, UK, 2011; Norton, US, 2012) won the Costa Biography Award and the H. W. Fisher Biography Prize, was Radio 4 Book of the Week and Sunday Times Biography of the Year. He has published the handmade and letterpress pamphlets Stones (Incline Press, 2016), East (Clutag Press, 2016), Leaves (Hazel Press, 2020) and Havener (Bonnefant Press, 2022). Leaves was shortlisted for the Michael Marks Poetry Award 2021. He is the author of The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem (Faber & Faber, UK, Norton, US, 2022). He was Poetry Editor at Faber & Faber from 2012 to 2023. His second book-length collection, Earth House, was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2023 and was longlisted for The Laurel Prize 2023.-bio via Bloodaxe Books Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Send us a Text Message.On today's show we interview poet, novelist and publisher of Bloodaxe Books Neil Astley. We talk to Neil about the latest Bloodaxe Books poetry anthology, Soul Feast, poems to stir the mind and feed the spirit, companion volume to 2007's Soul Food.  We also talk about how he got into publishing, what poetry means to him and  some of the discoveries he's made along the way. Two Irish poets in the anthology, Enda Coyle Greene and  Mary O'Donnell , read their contributions. Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry' from The Hare's Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it. Incidental music Romance for Piano and Cello by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial  (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/50238 Ft: ATUndertow by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyScott Buckley - FilamentsLicense: Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.comWanderlust by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comArtwork by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. Support the Show.

In this episode, our hearts are full as we are joined by the glorious poet Imtiaz Dharker, talking about the poem that has been a friend to her: 'Meeting Point' by Louis MacNeice.We are also thrilled to say that this episode will be with you in the month that Poems as Friends - The Poetry Exchange 10th Anniversary Anthology is published - on 9th May 2024. We are hugely grateful to everyone who has contributed poems and stories to its pages, and to all of you for your support and love for The Poetry Exchange over the last 10 years. Imtiaz Dharker is one of the leading and most widely respected poets of our age. "Reading her, one feels that were there to be a World Laureate, Imtiaz Dharker would be the only candidate." - Carol Ann Duffy. Imtiaz Dharker grew up a 'Muslim Calvinist' in a Lahori household in Glasgow, was adopted by India and married into Wales. She was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2014. Her main themes are drawn from a life of transitions: childhood, exile, journeying, home, displacement, religious strife and terror, and latterly, grief. On 23rd May 2024, Imtiaz's latest collection Shadow Reader is published by Bloodaxe Books. Shadow Reader is a radiant criss-cross of encounters, messages and Punjabi proverbs, shot through with the dark thread of an unwelcome prophecy. ‘Does the warp look back at the one who is weaving and say, This is not how I remember it…?' We are so delighted to share this conversation with you in the month that Shadow Reader - and our anthology of Poems as Friends - join us in the world. Imtiaz Dharker is in conversation with Fiona Bennett and Roy McFarlane.*********Meeting Point by Louis MacNeiceTime was away and somewhere else,There were two glasses and two chairsAnd two people with the one pulse(Somebody stopped the moving stairs):Time was away and somewhere else.And they were neither up nor down;The stream's music did not stopFlowing through heather, limpid brown,Although they sat in a coffee shopAnd they were neither up nor down.The bell was silent in the airHolding its inverted poise—Between the clang and clang a flower,A brazen calyx of no noise:The bell was silent in the air.The camels crossed the miles of sandThat stretched around the cups and plates;The desert was their own, they plannedTo portion out the stars and dates:The camels crossed the miles of sand.Time was away and somewhere else.The waiter did not come, the clockForgot them and the radio waltzCame out like water from a rock:Time was away and somewhere else.Her fingers flicked away the ashThat bloomed again in tropic trees:Not caring if the markets crashWhen they had forests such as these,Her fingers flicked away the ash.God or whatever means the GoodBe praised that time can stop like this,That what the heart has understoodCan verify in the body's peaceGod or whatever means the Good.Time was away and she was hereAnd life no longer what it was,The bell was silent in the airAnd all the room one glow becauseTime was away and she was here. © 1967 by Louis MacNeice. Reproduced with permission of David Higham Associates, Ltd. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE.In this special episode, we honour the poetry legend that is Benjamin Zephaniah by sharing this conversation with poet Roy McFarlane, talking about 'Dis Poetry' and the hugely influential part Benjamin Zephaniah has played in Roy's life.Roy McFarlane is a poet born in Birmingham of Jamaican parentage. He has held the roles of Birmingham's Poet Laureate, Starbucks' Poet in Residence and Birmingham & Midland Institute's Poet in Residence. He has three collections published by Nine Arches Press: Beginning With Your Last Breath (2016); The Healing Next Time (2018), which was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award, and Living By Troubled Waters (2022). In 2023, Roy McFarlane was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times' list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008 and was probably the most televised poet of his generation in the UK. His down-to-earth mission to take poetry wherever he could – and especially to those who would not normally read it – led him to being known to millions as ‘The People's Poet. Zephaniah was revolutionary in bringing his Jamaican voice, speech and heritage into poetry – both on the page and in performance – opening up doors for many poets to come. A lifelong activist, Zephaniah's wrote about his lived experiences of incarceration and racism, and was a radical voice for freedom, equality and humanity around the world. The recording of 'Dis Poetry', performed by Benjamin Zephaniah, is taken from To Do Wid Me - a 2013 film portrait of Benjamin Zephaniah by Pamela Robertson-Pearce drawing on both live performances and informal interviews. The film and accompanying Selected Poems are available from Bloodaxe Books: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/to-do-wid-me-dvd-book--1038.Roy McFarlane's extraordinary poem 'In the city of a hundred tongues' is taken from his collection The Healing Next Time, published by Nine Arches Press in 2018.Roy McFarlane is in conversation with Fiona Bennett and Michael Shaeffer.*********Dis Poetryby Benjamin ZephaniahDis poetry is like a riddim dat dropsDe tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shotsDis poetry is designed fe rantinDance hall style, big mouth chanting,Dis poetry nar put yu to sleepPreaching follow meLike yu is blind sheep,Dis poetry is not Party PoliticalNot designed fe dose who are critical.Dis poetry is wid me when I gu to me bedIt gets into me dreadlocksIt lingers around me headDis poetry goes wid me as I pedal me bikeI've tried Shakespeare, respect due dereBut did is de stuff I like.Read the full poem on our website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's show we discuss Fleur Adcock's Collected Poems, newly published by Bloodaxe Books, and we go to the launch of two more Bloodaxe books in Hodges Figgis, Kerry Hardie's We Go On and Aoife Lyall's The Day Before. We talk to both poets about their work and listen to them reading their poems. So put the kettle on and join us!Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry' from The Hare's Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it. Incidental music Wanderlust by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comArtwork by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. Support the show

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood'... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk's palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle's home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini's Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents' favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda's relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship. In That's Entertainment...? Variety and Me, Amanda revisits some of the acts that made up this form of light entertainment, exploring how they connected with her own family's life and considering their personal and cultural meaning for her both as a child and as the writer she is today. Essay 1: Singing, Dancing and Having a Laugh: The Backbone of Variety.The first essay of this series introduces listeners to the world of Variety as it morphed from Music Hall and journeyed into televised entertainment. It considers the backbone of the Variety Show – song, dance and comedy – through the lens of Amanda's personal memories of growing up in a rather unusual family.Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise WhitmoreA Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester's Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood'... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk's palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle's home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini's Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents' favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda's relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship. Essay 2: Gokkle o' Geer: Ventriloquists and their DummiesFascinated by the ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, in this second essay of the series Amanda turns her attention to ventriloquism. Rooted in Amanda's personal experience, she considers ventriloquism's extraordinary relationship with the human gut and traces its origins to the ancient belly prophets – or gastromancers. What might the anarchic truth-speaking of the ventriloquist's doll have to tell us about both our physiology and our minds?Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise WhitmoreA Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester's Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood'... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk's palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle's home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini's Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents' favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda's relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship. Essay 3: It's The Animal In Me: Animal Acts in Variety TheatreIn this third essay of the series Amanda looks not only to the dancing dogs, disappearing doves and rabbits pulled from hats, but to the wild animal acts that at one time were a regular feature of Variety. A lifelong animal lover who grew up in a houseful of pets, she recalls her uneasy childhood experiences of watching animals on stage – something she loved and hated in equal measure - and asks what is the appeal of watching animals ‘perform' and what can the lens of Variety reveal of our attitudes to other species and ourselves? Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise WhitmoreA Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester's Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood'... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk's palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle's home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini's Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents' favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda's relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship. Essay 4: Girls! Girls! Girls! Women in Variety For today's essay, Amanda turns her attention to female variety acts including those frequently unnamed, scantily clad ‘glamorous assistants.' Built around the rediscovery of her mum's 1920s and 30s scrapbook which charts her ventures into the world of entertainment, Amanda considers the role and frequently disturbing representation of women in old Variety Theatre, and her own mum's journey through this landscape.Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise WhitmoreA Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester's Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood'... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk's palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle's home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini's Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents' favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality' acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda's relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship. Essay 5: How Did They Do That? Magic and MesmerismIn this final essay, Amanda explores the world of magicians and hypnotists - the blurred line between acts of illusion and the apparently paranormal, the moment when the solidity of our logical, rational narrative of the world starts to fall away and we enter a state of bewilderment. The essay springs from Amanda's memories of her own childhood fascination with magic and her desire for it to be ‘real', despite her terror of psychic phenomena - a fascination that is still with her today and continues to inform her writing. “That's entertainment??” asks the essay, as it ponders the connections between amusement, thrill, escapism and fear.Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise WhitmoreA Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester's Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!

What self-consciousnesses do artists carry? It can be difficult to know how to hold onto confidence in your work, especially when small jibes from others remain long after apologies have been offered. Art compels and calls, and also complicates.Vidyan Ravinthiran was born in Leeds to Sri Lankan Tamils. His first book of poems, Grun-tu-molani (Bloodaxe Books, 2014), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize, and the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize. His second, The Million-petalled Flower of Being Here (Bloodaxe Books, 2019), won a Northern Writers Award and a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. It was shortlisted for the 2019 Forward Prize for Best Collection, the 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize, and the 2021 Ledbury Munthe Poetry Prize for Second Collections. He is the author of Elizabeth Bishop's Prosaic (Bucknell, 2015); a collection of essays, Worlds Woven Together (Columbia University Press, 2022); a critical study, Spontaneity and Form in Modern Prose (OUP, 2020); and Asian/Other, a fusion of poetry criticism and memoir forthcoming from Icon in the U.K. and Norton in the U.S. Ravinthiran is an associate professor of English at Harvard University.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.We're pleased to offer Vidyan Ravinthiran's poem, and invite you to connect with Poetry Unbound throughout this season.

We are pleased to present a new poetry podcast for Lent, in association with Canterbury Press. This week, Canon Mark Oakley reflects on “Paternoster” by Jen Hadfield. "Paternoster" is published in her collection Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), which won the T.S. Eliot Prize. We are grateful to Bloodaxe Books for giving permission to play a recording of Jen Hadfield reading the poem. bloodaxebooks.com. “‘Paternoster' is, to my mind, one of her most beautiful poems,” Mark says. “It is a prayer of a draughthorse in which she reworks the texture and rhythm of the Lord's Prayer through the horse's heart. . . If you want a glimpse of the beauty of a prayerful, intimate litany from a tired but hopeful heart then I recommend you listen to it as well as read it. Hadfield's poems are mesmeric and are meant, as are all poems, to be heard.” The material in this podcast is taken from Mark Oakley's book The Splash of Words (Canterbury Press), winner of the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Canon Mark Oakley is the Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. Artwork: Emily Noyce Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

In this special, feature-length episode, we bring you our live event at SkyLines Festival of Poetry & Spoken Word in Coventry, which took place in July 2022. Renowned poets Roz Goddard and Rishi Dastidar are in converation with hosts Michael Shaeffer and Roy McFarlane about the poems that have been friends to them, alongside live readings from The Poetry Exchange archive. Roz talks about 'Pulmonary Tuberculosis' by Katherine Mansfield; Rishi talks about 'Lousy with unfuckedness, I dream' by Amy Key. We are hugely greatful to Roz and Rishi for joining us for this event and for sharing the poems that have been friends to them so openly and beautifully. Our thanks also to the Belgrade Theatre and SkyLines Festival team, especially Jane Commane for inviting us to be part of the programme and Jason Sylvester and Debbie Harlow for their support on the day. Thank you to Amy Key for allowing us to share her brilliant poem - you can find it in Amy's collection 'Isn't Forever' from Bloodaxe Books: www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/isn-t-forever-1181 Roy also reads 'A Short Story of Falling' by Alice Oswald. Many thanks to Alice Oswald and United Agents for granting us permission to share the poem in this capacity. 'A Short Story of Falling' can be found in the collection 'Falling Awake' (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2016. ********* Pulmonary Tuberculosis by Katherine Mansfield The man in the room next to mine has the same complaint as I. When I wake in the night I hear him turning. And then he coughs. And I cough. And after a silence I cough. And he coughs again. This goes on for a long time. Until I feel we are like two roosters calling to each other at false dawn. From far-away hidden farms. Lousy with unfuckedness, I dream by Amy Key each night I count ghostlets of how my body was wanted / behind with deadheading / rose hips have come / behind with actions that count only / when the timing is right / I took out a contract / it was imprudent in value / behind with asepsis / hello microbes of my body / we sleep together / hello cats / I make my bed daily / of the three types of hair on the sheets / only one is human / I count the bedrooms / I never had sex in / but there were cars / wild woods / blackfly has got to all the nasturtiums / you cannot dig up a grapevine / and expect shelter to come / I am touched by your letter / writes a friend / you prevaricate desire / says message / all this fucking / with no hands on me Copyright Amy Key. From 'Isn't Forever' by Amy Key (Bloodaxe Books, 2018).

In this episode, poet Sue Brown talks with us about the poem that has been a friend to her - 'Truth' by Jean 'Binta' Breeze. ​ Sue joined The Poetry Exchange at the Birmingham & Midland Institute and is in conversation with Fiona Bennett and Roy McFarlane. Sue Brown writes from the heart and the soul. Her words pull from the dialect of her local community, from the long toned melodic speech of preachers and Maya Angelou, from mantras and incantations, from jazz. In her poetry, a lifetime in the making, she is a fighter and a lover, by turns rising up against the oppression that has dominated her peoples' history, and rising skywards on the warm air of her compassion and her capacity for love. These poems move with a beat that speaks to hearts everywhere. They pulse with life, feeling like they could either be spoken or sung. Feel their rhythm. Feel their profound sensibility. And as Roy McFarlane says in his exuberant introduction to this book – ‘Let Rhythm Chant take a hold of you.' 'Truth' is taken from Jean Binta Breeze's 'Third World Girl - Selected Poems', published by Bloodaxe Books: www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/third-world-girl-1005

Today's podcast is dedicated to the poetry of Georgian Poet Diana Anphimiadi. Thanks to our working relationship with the translator Natalia Bukia-Peters the PTC has been translating Georgian poetry since 2013 when two of Diana's poems 'May Honey' and ‘Tranquillity' were translated at one of our collaborative workshops, then in 2018 Diana was part of our Georgian Poets tour alongside Salome Benidze. Now the PTC with Bloodaxe Books has published Diana's first full-length English Language collection entitled Why I no Longer Write Poems, with translations by Natalia Bukia-Peters and the UK poet Jean Sprackland. The book has received Creative Europe funding and a PEN translates award. Plus, Diana's work was described as 'gorgeous, fabulising verse' by Fiona Sampson in The Guardian In her introduction, translator Natalia says: Diana Anphimiadi's paternal roots lie in Pontus, a historically Greek region on the southern coast of the Black Sea that once stretched form central Anatolia to the borders oft he Colchis in modern-day Turkey. Her mother is Georgian,from the area known as Megrelia-Colchis, where the famous legends of the Golden Fleece, the Argonauts, Jason and Medea also originate. In this small area of the Caucasus, Georgian literature – and Georgian poetry, in particular, has always been of central importance and its legacy, the urgency of expression and narrative allusions, can be felt in Anphimaidi's work You will hear prayer before taking nourishment, one of several prayer-poems Diana has penned, Dance 3 / 4 time, not just a dance Diana tell us but an Erotic poem and Medusa on of serval poems where Anphidiadi gives voice to the women of Greek mythology.

Chen Chen is an award-winning poet based in the United States. In this episode, he talks about the composition, editing, re-editing (and re-editing), process of his poem 'Nature Poem' published in his debut National Book award longlisted collection When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions, 2017 and Bloodaxe Books, 2019). On apocalyptic pineapples, giving yourself permission, and what writers can learn from Marie Kondo. 'Sometimes you have to make mistakes, you have to allow yourself to go on tangents, on little side adventures ... and then return home.' Craft is brought to you by Wasafiri, the magazine of international contemporary writing and Queen Mary University of London with funding from Arts Council England. Check out www.wasafiri.org for outtakes from this interview that didn't (quite) make the final cut, and much more from writers from all over the world. Chen's forthcoming book is Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (2022). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Courtney and Chris Margolin sit down with Chen Chen for a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry. They might also talk about Russian literature, Buffy, and the horrors of getting sucked down a mall escalator. This is quite the conversation! 陳琛 / Chen Chen's second book of poetry, Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency, is forthcoming from BOA Editions in Sept. 2022. His debut, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions, 2017), was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Thom Gunn Award, among other honors. In 2019 Bloodaxe Books published the UK edition. Chen is also the author of four chapbooks and the forthcoming book of essays, In Cahoots with the Rabbit God (Noemi Press, 2023). His work appears/is forthcoming in many publications, including Poem-a-Day and three editions of The Best American Poetry (2015, 2019, & 2021). He has received two Pushcart Prizes and fellowships from Kundiman and the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches at Brandeis University as the Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence and serves on the poetry faculty for the low-residency MFA programs at New England College and Stonecoast. With a brilliant team, he edits the journal, Underblong. With Gudetama the lazy egg, he edits the lickety~split. He lives in Waltham, MA with his partner, Jeff Gilbert and their pug, Mr. Rupert Giles. **Correction... it was not Courtney's Aunt, but a friend of the family. :) Find more about The Poetry Question on their website. Purchase TPQ20 and The Poetry Question Merchandise HERE. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Roscommon born Poet Jane Clarke reads her poem “That I Could" from her collection “When the Tree Falls” published by Bloodaxe Books. As the number of deaths from Covid 19 surpassed 5 million this week, Jane's poem, written following her father's death before the pandemic will resonate with many who have lost loved ones during Covid.

Ireland Professor of Poetry Frank Ormsby reads The Last Leaf in the Garden in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland. The poem is from his collection The Rain Barrel, published by Bloodaxe Books. The Words Lightly Spoken podcast is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and is a Rockfinch production.

Kirsty Lang on Colin Powell, who rose from an impoverished childhood in Harlem to become US Secretary of State A much loved Irish poet: Brendan Kennelly who learnt his storytelling skills growing up in his father's pub in County Kerry A ground-breaking female scientist Myriam Sarachik who had to contend with the deeply entrenched sexism And the extraordinary story of John Clunies-Ross - former ruler of the Cocos Islands which he ran for many years as a private fiefdom Produced by Neil George Interviewed guest: Karen de Young Interviewed guest: John Sugar Interviewed guest: Gerald Dawe Interviewed guest: Kenneth Chang Interviewed guest: John George Clunies-Ross Archive clips used: AP, US President Biden on Colin Powell 18/10/2021; NBC, Colin Powell addresses UN Sec Council 2003; Aspen Ideas Festival, Colin Powell 26/09/2007; Bloodaxe Books, Driving to Work With Brendan Kennelly 19/09/2011; CUNY TV, Women to Women - Dr Myriam P. Sarachik 28/04/2005; David R.M. Irving - YouTube, The World of Cocos Malay Music and Dance 30/12/2020; ABC (Australian TV), Dynasties - The Clunies-Ross Family 2004; Movietone, Queen at Cocos Islands and Ceylon 22/04/1954.

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. (Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory.) (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. (Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory.) (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers.

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. (Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory.) (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory. (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Additional translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/poetry

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory. (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Additional translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Is it just a coincidence that three books by the major Russian writer Maria Stepanova have appeared in English in 2021? Why does Maria Stepanova deploy such a rich variety of voices and forms? What are the challenges of translating her poetry? Who are the pantheon of deceased writers who seem to haunt her every line?  In this conversation, the editor of The Voice Over: Poems and Essays (Columbia UP, 2021), Irina Shevelenko talks about Stepanova's poetry and prose with Duncan McCargo. Irina elaborates on her wonderful introduction to the collection and explains how she assembled an outstanding team of translators to help bring this work to an international audience. Both Duncan and Irina read extracts from Stepanova's work. Maria Stepanova is the author of over ten poetry collections as well as three books of essays and the documentary novel In Memory of Memory. (US: New Directions, Canada: Book*hug Press, UK: Fitzcarraldo), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker International Prize.  Her poetry collection War of the Beasts and the Animals was published by Bloodaxe Books, also in 2021. She is the recipient of several Russian and international literary awards. Irina Shevelenko is professor of Russian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Additional translations are by: Alexandra Berlina, Sasha Dugdale, Sibelan Forrester, Amelia Glaser, Zachary Murphy King, Dmitry Manin, Ainsley Morse, Eugene Ostashevsky, Andrew Reynolds, and Maria Vassileva. For a video of the May 2021 launch event for The Voice Over, featuring Maria Stepanova and several of the translators, see  Book Launch of Maria Stepanova's The Voice Over: Poems and Essays – A Reading and Conversation – CREECA – UW–Madison (wisc.edu) Maria Stepanova is one of the most powerful and distinctive voices of Russia's first post-Soviet literary generation. An award-winning poet and prose writer, she has also founded a major platform for independent journalism. Her verse blends formal mastery with a keen ear for the evolution of spoken language. As Russia's political climate has turned increasingly repressive, Stepanova has responded with engaged writing that grapples with the persistence of violence in her country's past and present. Some of her most remarkable recent work as a poet and essayist considers the conflict in Ukraine and the debasement of language that has always accompanied war. The Voice Over brings together two decades of Stepanova's work, showcasing her range, virtuosity, and creative evolution. Stepanova's poetic voice constantly sets out in search of new bodies to inhabit, taking established forms and styles and rendering them into something unexpected and strange. Recognizable patterns of ballads, elegies, and war songs are transposed into a new key, infused with foreign strains, and juxtaposed with unlikely neighbors. As an essayist, Stepanova engages deeply with writers who bore witness to devastation and dramatic social change, as seen in searching pieces on W. G. Sebald, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Susan Sontag. Including contributions from ten translators, The Voice Over shows English-speaking readers why Stepanova is one of Russia's most acclaimed contemporary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Today, in the last podcast in the current season, Enda Wyley talks to Aoife Lyall about her debut collection Mother Nature, published by Bloodaxe Books. Aoife's Toaster Challenge Choice is A Line Made by Walking by Sara Baume, published by Tramp Press in 2017.And Books for Breakfast co-host Peter Sirr talks about his Intimate City: Dublin Essays, just published by Gallery Press.Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry' from The Hare's Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it.Artwork by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/books4breakfast)

Poet Jane Clark recites her poem "Camping At Bearna" remembering her seaside summer trips. "Camping At Bearna" is from Jane's collection When the Tree Falls published by Bloodaxe Books.

Poetry For the Season - Easter - 01 Presentor, Sally Read, presents poestry for the Eastertide season. Sally Read is a poet and convert to the Catholic faith. She has published three collections of poetry with Bloodaxe Books, and her first as a Catholic, Dawn of this Hunger, is forthcoming from Second Spring. Her work can also be heard online and downloaded at the UK's Poetry Archive. The story of her conversion to Catholicism from atheism, Night's Bright Darkness, came out with Ignatius Press in 2016, and it was followed in 2019 by Annunciation, a Call to Faith in a Broken World. Sally lives with her family near Rome. She is poet in residence of the Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs.

Kerry Hardie reads her poem Taking the Weight in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland, from her collection Where Now Begins, published by Bloodaxe Books. The Words Lightly Spoken podcast is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and is a Rockfinch production.

Invisible Borders is a collection of poetry and short fiction by women writers with a connection to the county of Cornwall. It is published by the Hypatia Trust and this podcast celebrates the release of the audio book version of the collection which has been produced by Alternative Stories. In this podcast we celebrate the launch of the audio book version of Invisible Borders a collection of poetry and short fiction by women writers with a connection to the county of Cornwall. Invisible Borders is now available in three formats: as a book, an e-book and now an audio book produced by Alternative Stories. The audio book will be out on 11th December and will be available from the Hypatia Trust Bookshop https://hypatia-trust.org.uk/bookshopThis podcast is presented by Hollye Sangster. The readers are Marie-Claire Wood, Katrina Naomi, Ella Frears and Mary J Oliver.The poems you can hear in this podcast are Hieroglyph Moth by Pascale PetitWarm Rain by Mary J Oliver I knew Which Direction by Ella FrearsPerfume Map by Penelope ShuttleElsewhere by Katrina NaomiI am Becoming by Faye WilsonYou can hear interviews featuring Miki Ashton from the Hypatia TrustLinda Cleary from Hypatia PublicationsMarie-Claire Wood, the actress who reads much of the work featured in the audio bookChris Gregory from the Alternative Stories Podcast Music, sound design and production are by Chris Gregory. Sound recordings were by Marie-Claire Wood, Ella Frears and Linda Cleary.We’d like to thank all our contributors to this podcast : Miki Ashton, Linda Cleary, Marie-Claire Wood, Chris Gregory and poets Pascale Petite, Mary J Oliver, Ella Frears, Penelope Shuttle, Katrina Naomi and Faye Wilson. We would especially like to thank the Hypatia trust for entrusting us with creating the audio book version of Invisible Borders. Special thanks are due to Cultivator Cornwall and Sam Jackman for their valued support in the making of Invisible Borders. We would also like to thank Bloodaxe Books, Seren Books and Offord Road Books for granting permission to reproduce work by their writers in Invisible Borders and in this podcast. You can find out more about the Hypatia Trust by visiting their website https://hypatia-trust.org.uk/ Or follow the trust on twitter at https://twitter.com/hypatia_trust You can follow Marie-Claire Wood on twitter at https://twitter.com/MarieClaireWood Find out more about Linda Cleary here https://twitter.com/_freewriters And follow Alternative Stories on Twitter here https://twitter.com/StoriesAltPlease subscribe to have all of our audio drama, poetry and fiction content delivered to your podcast feed the moment new episodes are released.

Julie O’Callaghan reads A Blizzard on Judson Avenue in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland. The poem is from her collection What’s What, published by Bloodaxe Books.

This morning, to mark Irish Book Week, we go on a virtual tour of Dublin bookshops past and present. Our Toaster Challenge guest is Kerry Hardie, whose new poetry collection, Where Now Begins, is published in November by Bloodaxe Books. Kerry's Toaster Challenge choice is The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, translated by Michael Hofmann.In Moving Light by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/61272Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry’ from The Hare’s Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it.Artwork by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. If you want to be alerted when a new episode is released follow the instructions here for iPhone or iPad. For Spotify notifications follow the instructions here.

1st October is National Poetry Day in the UK. This edition celebrates some of the poetry we have broadcast on the podcast in the last year and the poets and publishers we have worked with. In this podcast you can hear the following poems Thus I Became a Heart Eater by Phoebe Stuckes from her collection Platinum Blonde published by Bloodaxe Books and read by Marie-Claire WoodThen I Reconsidered Prayer by Maria Taylor from her collection Dressing For The Afterlife published by Nine Arches Press and read by Tiffany ClareTy Draw by Peter Finch from the collection Machineries of Joy published by Seren Books and read by Nerys HowellBlack Crow Woman by Sarah Corbett from the collection The Witch Bag published by Seren Books and read by Jade MatthewThe Overwhelming Urge by Ella Frears from the collection Shine Darling published by Offord Road Books and read by Tiffany ClareGreenman by Sarra Culleno read by Annabelle Broad first broadcast on the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities PodcastCatch 22 in Simplified Language by Jennifer Wong from the collection Letters Home published by Nine Arches press and read by Jennifer WongDark Moon by Sarah Corbett from the collection The Red Wardrobe published by Seren Books and read Amy ForrestBoots by Peter Finch from the collection Machineries of Joy published by Seren Books and read by Dafydd MorseEast West by Mary J Oliver from the collection Jim Neat: The Case of Young Man Down on his Luck published by Seren Books and read by Charlie RichardsTo the Uninhabited Island of Cara by Mary J Oliver read by Tiffany Clare We would like to thank all the poets, publishers and readers of these poems.This edition is presented by Hollye SangsterMusic, sound design and production is by Chris GregorySound effects are from Freesound.orgTo contact the podcast please send us an email to office@alternativestories.comor contact us on social media https://twitter.com/StoriesAltor https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/

Phoebe Stuckes is a poet living and working in London. Her new collection Platinum Blonde is published this week by Bloodaxe Books. We bring you 5 poems from the collection and an interview and thoughts on the poems from Phoebe herself. The poems you can hear are Bleach read by Marie-Claire WoodWet read by Tiffany Clare Paris read by Tiffany Clare Thus I Became a Heart Eater read by Marie-Claire Woodand Confessional read by Nadia Wyn AbouayanThe presenters are Hollye Sangster and Kelli Winkler You can purchase Platinum Blonde directly from Bloodaxe Books via this link https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/and follow Bloodaxe on twitter here https://twitter.com/BloodaxeBooksFollow Phoebe Stuckes on twitter here https://twitter.com/phoebestuckes

This week’s guest is the great American poet, Fred Voss, author of Goodstone, Carnegie Hall with Tin Walls, Hammers and Hearts of the Gods, Making America Strong, and most recently, Robots Have No Bones. Fred talks to Frank about his long-term commitment to working as a machinist and writing about his experiences, documenting the lives of working people from a firsthand perspective. This episode features the Fred Voss poems, ‘Making America Strong’ and ‘Frank Almost Writes His First Poem About Paris,’ also available on You Tube: https://youtu.be/oJa7uCGw-O8 (with thanks to Bloodaxe Books) https://youtu.be/AbIXSvcx_Vk Fred’s most recent poems can be found online here: https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/itemlist/user/314-fredvoss Also on this episode, Frank continues his sideline in illegal medical referrals, despite listeners’ objections. An MRI machine is a great place to go and have a chill out. Frank’s website: www.frankburton.co.uk Frank’s email: fjb79@hotmail.com This week’s music: Monoculture – Cause and Consequence: https://archive.org/details/USR-019 Theme tune: ProleteR - April Showers: https://proleter.bandcamp.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A chance to hear again Rita Ann Higgins reading her poem Homage in this episode from June 2019 of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. Rita Ann’s work is published by Bloodaxe Books and Salmon Poetry.

This morning's show features an excursion into the country in the company of a favourite novel of Enda's, J.L Carr's A Month in the Country. Toaster Challenge guest debut novelist Marianne Lee talks about the inspiration behind A Quiet Tide, recently published by New Island, and we travel, at least in our heads, to Sweden to explore the poetry of Lars Gustafsson, whose Selected Poems, translated by John Irons, are published by Bloodaxe Books. Toaster Challenge choice: Olga Tokarczuk: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the DeadIntro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry’ from The Hare’s Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it.Art work by Freya SirrTo subscribe to Books for Breakfast go to your podcast provider of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google etc) and search for the podcast then hit subscribe or follow, or simply click the appropriate button above. If you want to be alerted when a new episode is released follow the instructions here for iPhone or iPad. For Spotify notifications follow the instructions here.

Today's poem takes us on a trip into the poet's past as they revisit memories of an old love. We're grateful to the poet, and to Bloodaxe Books, for permission to use this poem.

Escape with a Poem makes another journey to India, this time to an informal settlement on the outskirts of Mumbai. We're grateful to Bloodaxe Books for permission to share this poem by Imtiaz Dharker.

William Golding's second novel The Inheritors (1955) is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to explore this intense, visionary account of the fall of Neanderthal man, published just a year after Lord of the Flies, are two returning Backlisted guests, SF novelist Una McCormack and writer and critic Andrew Male. Also in this episode Andy has been reading Square Haunting by Francesca Wade, while John talks about Staying Human, a forthcoming poetry anthology from Bloodaxe Books.

The DUAL POETRY PODCAST continues with its focus on the Cuban writer Legna Rodríguez Iglesias who burst onto the Cuban literary scene with all the ferocity of a stampeding elephant aged 19. This week we are bringing you two poems, Pure Jazz and Maggot People, that originated in her 2017 title Miami Century Fox, a collection of 51 Petrarchan sonnets. Last year in partnership with Bloodaxe Books the PTC co-published 'A little body are many parts' an overview of poems from Legna Rodríguez Iglesias 8 Spanish language collections with translations by Serafine Vick and Abigale Parry and this year it was shortlisted for the first ever Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry.  Get our Derek Walcott Poetry Prize Shortlist Bundle including both Legna's collection and the second shortlisted book published by the PTC 'the hammer and other poems' by Award-winning poet Adelaide Ivánova’s fro just £15.

With today's poem, let us transport you to the glittering Aegean, in search of dolphins. We're grateful to the author and Bloodaxe Books for permission to share this poem.

In Leanne O’Sullivan’s poem “Leaving Early,” the poet writes to her ill husband, entrusting him into the care of a nurse named Fionnuala. As the novel coronavirus sweeps the globe, many of us can’t physically be there for loved ones who are sick. Instead, it is the health care workers — and all involved in the health care system — who are tirelessly present, caring for others in spite of exhaustion and the risk it brings to their own well being.We offer this episode of Poetry Unbound in profound gratitude toward all who are working in health care right now.“Leaving Early” comes from Leanne O’Sullivan’s book A Quarter of an Hour. Thank you to the publisher, Bloodaxe Books, who gave us permission to use Leanne’s poem. Read it on our website at onbeing.org.Find the transcript for this episode at onbeing.org.The original music in this episode was composed by Gautam Srikishan.

In Leanne O’Sullivan’s poem “Leaving Early,” the poet writes to her ill husband, entrusting him into the care of a nurse named Fionnuala. As the novel coronavirus sweeps the globe, many of us can’t physically be there for loved ones who are sick. Instead, it is the health care workers — and all involved in the health care system — who are tirelessly present, caring for others in spite of exhaustion and the risk it brings to their own wellbeing.We offer this episode of Poetry Unbound in profound gratitude toward all who are working in health care right now.About the Poet:“Leaving Early” comes from Leanne O’Sullivan’s book A Quarter of an Hour. Thank you to the publisher, Bloodaxe Books, who gave us permission to use Leanne’s poem. Read it on our website at onbeing.org.Find the transcript for this episode at onbeing.org.The original music in this episode was composed by Gautam Srikishan.

Helen Ivory is a Norfolk based poet and visual artist with a number of acclaimed collections published by Bloodaxe Books, including her most recent anthology ‘The Anatomical Venus (2019). She is also the editor of the webzine ‘Ink, Sweat, Tears’ and is a tutor and course director for the UEA/National Centre for Writing online creative writing programme.

Jane Clarke recalls a vanished way of life in her poem Pit Ponies of Glendasan in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland. Jane’s work is published by Bloodaxe Books.

This week’s poem is by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi from Sudan. The poem is read first in English translation by Sarah Maguire and then in Arabic by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi. Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi is one of the leading African poets writing in Arabic today. He has gained a wide audience in his native Sudan for his imaginative approach to poetry and for the delicacy and emotional frankness of his lyrics. This poem is included in a chapbook of poems by Al-Saddiq, in our shop you can also find his first English collection entitled 'A Monkey At The Window' published 2016 by PTC and Bloodaxe Books. This is part of our rebranded weekly release: the Dual Poetry Podcast, one poem in two languages from the Poetry Translation Centre. As ever we will be releasing a translated poem each week. Please take a moment to rate and review this podcast on iTunes or wherever you download.

Harry Clifton reads his poem Trance in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. The poem is from his collection Herod’s Dispensations, published by Bloodaxe Books.

Irish poet, Jane Clarke's first collection, The River, was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015 to public and critical acclaim. Her second book-length collection, When the Tree Falls was published by Bloodaxe in September 2019 and her illustrated booklet of poems, All the Way Home, was published by Smith/Doorstop in April 2019.The River was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize, given for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry evoking the spirit of a place. In 2016 Jane won the Hennessy Literary Award for Emerging Poetry and the inaugural Listowel Writers' Week Poem of the Year Award. She was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Literary Bursary in 2017.Jane holds a BA in English & Philosophy from Trinity College, Dublin, an MPhil in Writing from the University of South Wales, and has a background in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. She grew up on a farm in Roscommon and now lives with her partner in Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow, where she combines writing with her work as creative writing tutor and group facilitator.

Beloved by Asha Lul Mohamud Yusuf is a passionate love poem! It is a jiifto, one of the many Metric forms of Somali poetry made up of short lines. First, you will hear the stunning translation by UK poet Clare Pollard who captures the alliterating Bs of the original Somali and the sense of yearning with lines like 'be my new moon / unbreakable metal'. Afterwards, you can hear Asha reading the poem in the original Somali. This month sees the publication of her first English Language collection published by Bloodaxe Books. The collection's title The Sea-Migrations or, Tahriib in Somali, refers to the search for a better life in another country. You can buy The Sea-Migrations here. This is part of our new rebranded weekly release: the Dual Poetry Podcast, one poem in two languages from the Poetry Translation Centre. As ever we will be releasing a translated poem each week. Please take a moment to rate and review this podcast on iTunes or wherever you download.

Rita Ann Higgins reads her poem Homage in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. Rita Ann’s work is published by Bloodaxe Books and Salmon Poetry.

'To a Dead Slave' by Martin Carter read by Ashanti Harris. 'To a Dead Slave' was first published in 1951 and appears in the collection, 'University of Hunger' published by Bloodaxe Books in 2006. More from Ashanti Harris can be found at http://www.ashantiharris.com/

In this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, Jane Clarke reads her poem He stood at the top of the stairs, which was published in volume 121 of Poetry Ireland Review. Jane’s work is published by Bloodaxe Books.

Ailbhe Darcy reads her poem Still in this episode of Words Lightly Spoken, a podcast of poetry from Ireland, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. The poem is from Ailbhe’s collection Insistence, published by Bloodaxe Books.

In this episode, Mark talks about the poem that has been a friend to him – ‘Barcarole' by Pablo Neruda - translated by Robert Hass. We're delighted to feature ‘Barcarole' in this episode and would like to thank Agencia Literaria Carmen Balcells, City Lights Books and Frederick Courtright for granting us permission to share the poem in this way. www.agenciabalcells.com www.citylights.com www.permissionscompany.com You can find ‘Barcarole' in ‘The Essential Neruda' - Selected Poems - edited by Mark Eisner, published by Bloodaxe Books in the UK and City Lights Books in the US. https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/the-essential-neruda-957 http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100907730 Mark is in conversation with The Poetry Exchange team members, Michael Shaeffer and Alison McManus. Michael Shaeffer reads the gift reading of ‘Barcarole'. ***** Barcarole If only you would touch my heart, if only you were to put your mouth to my heart, your delicate mouth, your teeth, if you were to put your tongue like a red arrow there where my dusty heart is beating, if you were to blow on my heart near the sea, weeping, it would make a dark noise, like the drowsy sound of train wheels, like the indecision of waters, like autumn in full leaf, like blood, with a noise of damp flames burning the sky, with a sound like dreams or branches or the rain, or foghorns in some dismal port, if you were to blow on my heart near the sea, like a white ghost, in the spume of the wave, in the middle of the wind, like a ghost unleashed, at the seashore, weeping. Like a long absence, like a sudden bell, the sea doles out the sound of the heart, raining, darkening at sundown, on a lonely coast: no question that night falls and its mournful blue of the flags of shipwrecks peoples itself with planets of throaty silver. And the heart sounds like a sour conch calls, oh sea, oh lament, oh molten panic, scattered in the unlucky and dishevelled waves: The sea reports sonorously on its languid shadows, its green poppies. If you existed, suddenly, on a mournful coast, surrounded by the dead day, facing into a new night, filled with waves, and if you were to blow on my cold and frightened heart, if you were to blow on the lonely blood of my heart, if you were to blow on its motion of doves in flame, its black syllables of blood would ring out, its incessant red waters would come to flood, and it would ring out, ring out with shadows, ring out like death, cry out like a tube filled with wind or weeping, like a shaken bottle spurting fear. So that's how it is, and the lightning would glint in your braids and the rain would come in through your open eyes to ready the weeping you shut up dumbly and the black wings of the sea would wheel round you, with its great talons and its rush and its cawing. Do you want to be the solitary ghost blowing, by the sea its sad instrument? If only you would call, a long sound, a bewitching whistle, a sequence of wounded waves, maybe some one would come, (someone would come,) from the peaks of the islands, from the red depths of the sea, someone would come, someone would come. Someone would come, blow fiercely, so that it sounds like a siren of some battered ship, like lamentation, like neighing in the midst of the foam and blood, like ferocious water gnashing and sounding. In the marine season its conch of shadow spirals like a shout, the seabirds ignore it and fly off, its roll call of sounds, its mournful rings rise on the shores of the lonely sea.

  Azita Ghahreman was born in Mashhad in 1962. One of Iran's leading poets, she has lived in Sweden since 2006. She is a member of the South Sweden Writers' Union. Her poems directly address questions of female desire and challenge the accepted position of women. Negative of a Group Photograph is the title poem of her new book published in 2018 by the PTC and Bloodaxe Books. The collection runs the gamut of Ghahreman’s experience: from her childhood in the Khorasan region of south-eastern Iran to her exile to Sweden, from Iran's book-burning years and the war in Iraq to her unexpected encounters with love. This is part of our new rebranded weekly release: the Dual Poetry Podcast, one poem in two languages from the Poetry Translation Centre. As ever we will be releasing a translated poem each week. Please take a moment to rate and review this podcast on iTunes or wherever you download.

This week’s poem is 'Crow’s Final Frontier' by Azita Ghahreman from Iran. This is from a set of new recordings we made of Azita reading her poems in October 2018 when she was in the UK to launch her new book 'Negative of A Group Photo' published by the PTC and Bloodaxe Books. First, you can hear Azita tell us a bit about the poem and read the original text in Persian, then her poet-translator Maura Dooley will read her translation in English. You can buy the book  'Negative of A Group Photo' from the PTC online: poetrytranslation.org/shop If you enjoy this podcast and would like to support the work of the Poetry Translation Centre then please visit poetrytranslation.org/support-us

This week’s poem is 'Night Demon' by Azita Ghahreman from Iran. This is from a set of new recordings we made of Azita reading her poems in October 2018 when she was in the UK to launch her new book 'Negative of A Group Photo' published by the PTC and Bloodaxe Books. First, you can hear Azita tell us a bit about the poem and read the original text in Persian, then her poet-translator Maura Dooley will read her translation in English. You can buy the book  'Negative of A Group Photo' from the PTC online: poetrytranslation.org/shop If you enjoy this podcast and would like to support the work of the Poetry Translation Centre then please visit poetrytranslation.org/support-us

This week’s poem is 'Red Bicycle' by Azita Ghahreman from Iran. This is the first in a set of new recordings we made of Azita reading her poems in October 2018 when she was in the UK to launch her new book 'Negative of A Group Photo' published by the PTC and Bloodaxe Books. First, you can hear Azita tell us a bit about the poem and read the original text in Persian, then her poet-translator Maura Dooley will read her translation in English. If you enjoyed this poem you can buy Azita's collection from the PTC website here: http://www.poetrytranslation.org/shop/negative-of-a-group-photograph    

Poet Benjamin Morris gives a tour of the contemporary British poetry from both the United Kingdom and Scotland. Originally aired on March 23rd 2018. Here's a full list of the poets and poems read: Norman MacCaig, “Summer Farm.” from Selected Poems, Chatto & Windus, 1997. Kathleen Jamie, “Basking Shark.” from The Tree House. Picador, 2004. John Glenday, “St. Orage.” from Grain. Picador, 2009. Jen Hadfield, “Paternoster.” from Nigh-No- Place. Bloodaxe Books, 2008 Ryan Van Winkle, “After the Service.” from The Good Dark. Penned in the Margins, 2015. Helen Mort, “Coffin Path.” from Division Street. Chatto & Windus, 2013. Jacob Polley, “The North-South Divide.” from The Brink. Picador, 2003. Tim Liardet, “The Vaults.” from The Blood Choir. Seren, 2006. Hannah Lowe. “Five Ways to Load a Dice.” from Chick. Bloodaxe Books, 2013. David Harsent, “Ballad.” from Night. Faber, 2011.

FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY: Bryony Doran, Author, Poet and Comedienne, in conversation with The Urban Tiger. Bryony's collection of poetry 'Bullet Proof', an unflinching examination of her emotional experiences while her son was fighting in Afghanistan, is published by Bloodaxe Books in their new anthology, 'Home Front'.

Philip Dodd considers the importance of 'play' in the way our city centres are designed, built, look and feel in the 21st century with architect Stephen Witherford, social anthropologist Clare Melhuish, urban planner Ben van Bruggen, and Jonathan Glancey author of 'What's So Great About the Eiffel Tower?'. Plus, Durham poet Gillian Allnutt discusses a life in words and receiving the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. What's So Great About the Eiffel Tower? by Jonathan Glancey is published on the 28th of February. Gillian Allnutt's latest collection poetry, Indwelling, is published by Bloodaxe Books.

Artist Dave McKean on the way Paul Nash's dreams have inspired a graphic novel.Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, Philip speaks to poet George Szirtes, who left the country as a boy in 1956, and writer Tibor Fischer, whose parents came to Britain that same year. They are joined by historians Nora Berend and Simon Hall to discuss the revolt, the history of Islam in Hungary and the political debates going on today. Paul Nash runs at Tate Britain from 26 October 2016 – 5 March 2017Dave McKean has created a graphic novel, Black Dog, based on the dreams of Paul Nash which forms part of the 14-18 Now arts programme.George Szirtes is the co-editor of the Hungarian Anthology The Colonnade of Teeth published by Bloodaxe Books and the title of his own new poetry collection is Mapping the Delta. Tibor Fischer is the author of numerous works, including the Booker Prize-nominated Under The Frog.Dr Nora Berend is Reader in European History, University of Cambridge, and author of books including At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and "Pagans" in Medieval Hungary c. 1000-c. 1300Professor Simon Hall, University of Leeds, is the author of 1956: The World in Revolt. He is giving a public lecture on The Hungarian Revolution and the Refugee Experience, 1956-2016, in Leeds on Thursday 24 November.

This recording was made on 5th May 2016 at Kings College London, at an event celebrating the launch of MPT's anniversary anthology, Centres of Cataclysm, published by Bloodaxe Books.

Libby Purves meets poet and artist Frieda Hughes; composer Christopher Gunning; puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew and horticulturalist and gardening judge Jim Buttress. Ronnie Le Drew is a puppeteer. Over his long career he has operated Muffin the Mule, Sweep and Zippy from the children's television series Rainbow. He discovered puppetry as a small boy, performing glove puppet shows for his friends on the south London council estate where he grew up. His biography Zippy and Me, written with Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, will be published by Unbound. Ronnie is performing the Snitchity Titch Show at the Little Angel Theatre, London. Christopher Gunning is an award-winning composer, best known for his theme music to Agatha Christie's Poirot as well as Porterhouse Blue and La Vie en Rose. He started out writing music for commercials and early on in his career he worked as assistant to the late Dudley Moore, who became a regular pianist on a variety of Christopher's jingles and documentary scores. Christopher's latest work is a violin and cello concerto, inspired by his love of Wales. Violin Concerto/Cello Concerto/Birdflight is released on Discovery Records. Frieda Hughes is a poet and artist. The daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, Her book, Alternative Values, is the story of her life told through a series of abstract paintings which accompany her poetry. Frieda wrote and painted from an early age and for many years has been a children's writer. She is talking about her life and work at the Salisbury International Arts Festival. Alternative Values is published by Bloodaxe Books. Jim Buttress is a gardener, horticulturalist and RHS judge, known for his trademark bowler hat and clipboard. He has presided over flower shows including Chelsea and Hampton Court and the Britain in Bloom competition for over 25 years. In his memoir, The People's Gardener, he recounts his garden memories including his ten years as superintendent of the Central Royal Parks - on one occasion looking after some elephants which had taken up residence in Hyde Park. His memoir, The People's Gardener, is published by Sidgwick And Jackson. Producer: Paula McGinley.

In this episode of our podcast, you will hear Claudia talking about the poem that has been a friend to her: 'The moth' by Miroslav Holub. We are delighted to feature 'The moth' in this episode and would like to thank Bloodaxe Books for granting us permission to use the poem in this way. Do visit them for further inspiration! www.bloodaxebooks.com And if you would like to find out more about Miroslav Holub and hear him reading his own work in Czech, please visit: www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/collection_audio/audio_submenu/H/0 Claudia visited The Poetry Exchange at Greyfriar's Chapel in Canterbury, as part of Wise Words Festival in September 2014. We're very grateful to Wise Words for hosting The Poetry Exchange. Thanks also to Spread The Word for their continued support of the project. www.wisewordsfestival.co.uk www.spreadtheword.org.uk Claudia is in conversation with The Poetry Exchange team members, Fiona Lesley Bennett and Michael Shaeffer. 'The moth' is read by Michael Shaeffer. ***** 'The moth' by Miroslav Holub The moth, having left its pupa in the galaxy of flower grains and pots of rancid dripping, the moth discovers in this topical darkness that it's a kind of butterfly but it can't believe it, it can't believe it, it can't believe that it's a tiny, flying, relatively free moth and it wants to go back, but there's no way. Freedom makes the moth tremble for ever. That is, Twenty-two hours. Miroslav Holub, Poems Before & After: Collected English Translations. Trans. Dana Hasova and David Young (Bloodaxe Books, 2006) www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/poems-before-after-848 ***** 'Adaptation' by Fiona Lesley Bennett. (from The Poetry Exchange conversation with Claudia Orduz about the poem that has been a friend to her; The Moth by Miroslav Holub.) Czechoslovakia 1976 A man is shuttered away in a laboratory he stares down the lens of a microscope into the peppercorn eyes of a moth. At night words fall through him like particles that cluster and mutate in spiralling patterns Nemuze uverit, nemuze uverit, nemuze uverit. Every twenty-two hours the moth hangs in its pupa waiting for the blood to fall and for the wind and the currents. Columbia 2011 A woman is kept in a jar, the jar is kept in darkness, the darkness is blacker than her eyes. Inside herself she dreams she is a girl running barefoot with a net in the garden. creelo, creelo, creelo Somewhere between thought and dream, between decades and hemispheres and species the edge of belief begins like a wing that trembles and then lifts.

Choman Hardi, interview at The Queens College Oxford. CHOMAN HARDI was born in Iraqi Kurdistan. She came to England as a refugee in 1993. She has published collections of poetry in Kurdish and English. In 2010 four poems from her English collection, Life For Us (Bloodaxe Books, 2004), were selected for the English GCSE curriculum. Her forthcoming collection, Considering the Women, is published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015.

Modern Poetry in Translation Magazine (MPT) celebrates fifty years between July 2015 and July 2016 with a programme of special events and publications. To mark the occasion, MPT is working with Bloodaxe Books to publish an anthology of the most exciting and important work published in MPT over the last 50 years. Speaking at International Translation Day in October 2015, Sasha Dugdale was joined by former editors David and Helen Constantine to discuss the anthology and look back over the magazine's extraordinary history. Find out more about MPT's 50th anniversary: bit.ly/MPT50

Ryan Van Winkle talks with poet Thomas Lux on this week's episode. Winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, a Guggenheim fellowship as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Thomas was at the SPL for our Sympoetry event last year. We get the opportunity to hear some of Thomas's work and he discusses his approach to writing and his inspiring thoughts on teaching creative writing. His recently published Selected Poems is available now from Bloodaxe Books. This episode is presented by Ryan Van Winkle @rvwable and produced by Colin Fraser @kailworm of Culture Laser Productions http://www.culturelaser.com @culturelaser

Born in Saffuriyya in the Galilee, Taha Muhammad Ali settled in Nazareth after the 1948 Arab-Israel war. There, he owned a souvenir shop near the Church of the Annunciation, which became a meeting place for local and visiting writers. Host Marcela Sulak tells Ali's charming fairytale about how his craft was tested by a visitor who came daily to his shop, and had to be bribed with an olive-wood camel to hear Ali's latest poem. Ali’s poetry is written in literary Arabic, "grounded in the vernacular, and rooted in local custom." He writes long ballads about his lost home, his lost love, and the frustrations and complexities of Palestinian life. Even his invectives are full of self irony, and a gentleness of spirit found only in those of great integrity. Marcela ends by reading his most quoted passages, from the poem 'Twigs': "And so/ it has taken me/ all of sixty years/ to understand / that water is the finest drink, / and bread the most delicious food, / and that art is worthless/ unless it plants/ a measure of splendor in people’s hearts.” Texts: So What Taha Muhammad Ali. New and Selectd Poems 1971-2005. Translated by Peter Cole, Yahya Hijazi & Gavriel Levin. Bloodaxe Books, 2007. My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness. A Poet’s Life in the Palestinian Century, by Adina Hoffman. Yale University Press, 2009. Music: Umm Kulthum

NIKOLA MADZIROV Nikola Madzirov is a Macedonian poet, essayist, translator and editor. His poetry has been translated into over 30 languages. He won the European Hubert Burda Prize for young East European poets for his collection Relocated Stone (2007). A selection of his poetry, Remnants of Another Age, was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2013. PEGGY REID Graham and Peggy Reid have translated and co-translated many and various texts, including history, novels, plays, film scripts and poetry. In 1973 they won the Struga Poetry Festival Translation Prize, and later participated in the few but very productive Struga International Translation Workshops. Both have honorary titles from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University and both have been awarded an MBE for services to literature and language in Macedonia. Their translations of Nikola Madzirov appear in his collection Remnants of Another Age (Bloodaxe, 2013).

Taking Rilke's classic correspondence as inspiration, five leading poets write a personal letter to a young poet. Today, Pakistan-born Moniza Alvi.The original Letters to a Young Poet is a compilation of letters by Rainer Maria Rilke, written between 1902 and 1908 to a 19-year-old officer cadet called Franz Kappus. Kappus was trying to choose between a literary career and entering the Austro-Hungarian army. Rilke's letters touch on poetry and criticism, but they range widely in subject matter from atheism and loneliness, to friendship and sexuality:"If your everyday life seems to lack material, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to summon up its riches; for there is no lack for him who creates and no poor, trivial place."In their new letters, five poets imagine a young poet protégé to whom they want to pass on life experience and thoughts about the poetic art.Our poets are: Michael Symmons Roberts, Vicki Feaver, Michael Longley, Moniza Alvi and Don Paterson.About Moniza Alvi: Moniza Alvi was born in Pakistan and grew up in Hertfordshire. Her latest book are At the Time of Partition (Bloodaxe Books, 2013) which is shortlisted for the 2013 T S Eliot Prize. Other recent books include her book-length poem; Homesick for the Earth, her versions of the French poet Jules Supervielle (Bloodaxe Books, 2011); Europa (Bloodaxe Books, 2008); and Split World: Poems 1990-2005 (Bloodaxe Books, 2008), which includes poems from her five previous collections.

Omnesia is a very modern condition, whereby our ability to store unprecedented amounts of information is combined with ever-shortening memories and attention spans. Omnesia is also the name of not one but two new collections by W.N. Herbert, both published earlier this year by Bloodaxe Books. During the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Herbert stopped off at the Scottish Poetry Library to explain his concept of omnesia and to read poems from his latest collections. He also talks about being a bad traveller, education minister Michael Gove’s take on poetry, and why Robert Burns is an omnesiac. Image by David Williams

In 2004 Rob Forkan and his three siblings lost their parents in the tsunami in Sri Lanka and narrowly escaped death themselves. Penniless, hungry and without documents it took the children a week to hitchhike 200km before they were able to return to Britain. Rob and his brother Paul have now set up a footwear business selling flip flops. A portion of their profits will go towards their 'Orphans for Orphans' initiative which supports a school in India. In 2014, the 10th anniversary of the tsunami, they are hoping to set up a children's home in India as a memorial to their parents. Sir Michael Parker is the producer behind over three hundred public events including the Royal Tournament and the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. His new book gives the inside story of the chaos behind some of the events he managed - successfully hidden from spectators and audiences around the world, and often much to the Queen's amusement. His book, 'It's All Going Terribly Wrong - The Accidental Showman' is published by Bene Factum Publishing. Hannah Lowe's debut collection of poems, Chick, is about her late father, a Chinese-Jamaican migrant who disappeared at night to play cards or dice in London's East End. Chick was her father's gambling nickname. After his death Hannah investigated his secret world, visiting the casinos where he played and meeting the men he gambled alongside. Chick is published by Bloodaxe Books. Jimmy Osmond is the youngest member of the Osmond family. He is about to begin a UK tour of 'Boogie Nights The 70s Musical - In Concert' along with brothers Merrill and Jay, performing their hits Crazy Horses and Love Me For A Reason. Boogie Nights The 70s Musical plays 50 dates across the UK. Producer: Paula McGinley.