'Higher than the handsomest hotel...'

Joe has, through some tricky circumstances, been visiting a particular building and thinks you should wander the corridors with him.

If it doesn't come through in this episode: my absolute respect for all NHS staff that keep these buildings going, and especially to the good folk at University Hospital Southampton.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

'The mower stalled, twice...'

I've been asked to mow the lawn this weekend.

Here's a throwback to late spring 2024, when I recorded my first sketch for the Philip Larkin Society. If you are a lover of Larkin, please check out their excellent podcast entitled 'Tiny in all That Air' here.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

'Let faxes butter-curl on dusty shelves...'

Joe rings in spring by sitting in a sunny space and reads this wonderful poem for turbulent times.

Ros Barber kindly agreed to be interviewed about this poem and the second half is less a sketch and more a portrait of the poet herself, and how this superb poem came into being.

Find more of her work here:

https://rosbarber.com/

Or follow her Substack:

https://substack.com/@rosbarber

...and while you're at it:

https://substack.com/@thesketchpoet

Support the show

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

'I wander thro' each chartered street, near where the chartered Thames does flow

And mark in every face I meet, marks of weakness, marks of woe...'

Joe heads to the Big Smoke and speaks with John Riordan from the William Blake Society. You can find his work here: https://www.johnriordan.co.uk/

and join the William Blake Society here:

https://www.blakesociety.org

Many thanks to John and to the mystery American/Italian poet outside Blake's house.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

'Whose woods these are I think I know...'

Happy 2025!

Get your coat, get your gloves, get your...horse. We're going for a very bracing journey through the wintery landscape of this lovely poem.

Audio at the beginning from the Cohen Brothers' neo-Western masterpiece: No Country for Old Men.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

'Once upon a midnight dreary...'

A bumper Christmas episode. Enjoy during this bleak December!

NEVERMORE!

*Re-uploaded due to initial sound level issues.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

Boo!
This story needs no introduction.

Once again, I found this recording from 2022 and I wanted to share it.

If you want to hear the other Staves then please get in touch with me via email/subscribe.

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Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com

Not poetry, but I recorded this last year and wanted to share it with you.
A spooky tale for the fireside this Christmas by the masterful M.R James.

Sceptical Professor Parkins takes a trip to Burnstow to indulge in some research, and play some golf. He finds a mysterious whistle in the ruins of an old preceptory and, foolishly, blows it. From this point on, he is pursued by...what?

Stoke the fire or light a candle, settle back in a comfy chair, pour yourself a large glass of something strong; you may need it.


Soundscape provided by the excellent Bethan Briggs-Miller of the Eerie Essex podcast.

Support the show

https://bsky.app/profile/sketchpoetry.bsky.social
Want to hear a poem? Pitch it (and the setting in which you think it could be read) to me here:
thesketchpoet@gmail.com