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Versify - Poetry and English Literature

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Dan Hill 47 episodes Oct 23, 2026

Versify is a podcast in which three genial enthusiasts read and discuss poetry. The show explores poems and English literature through relaxed conversation, close reading and shared enthusiasm. Episodes are presented in English and aimed at listeners who enjoy poetry and literary discussion.

Episodes

William Wordsworth - LIVE IN EASTBOURNE Oct 23, 2026 53:41 Send us Fan MailThree poems by William Wordsworth, recorded in front of a live audience. Due to some technical difficulties, all the audience interaction has been removed.Support the show

Conrad Aiken Jun 1, 2026 1:26:29 Send us Fan MailThree poems by US poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Conrad Aiken (1889-1973)Support the show

Robert Burns - A Burns Night Special Jan 25, 2026 1:38:10 Send us Fan MailTo celebrate Burns Night on Jan 25th, we tackle three poems by Scotland's greatest poet. We do some sketchy accents!Support the show

A LIVE Versify Xmas 2025 Dec 21, 2025 1:25:10 Send us Fan MailWe venture to Alfriston, Sussex for a live Christmas pod.Three Christmas poems dismantled clumsily.Festive greetings!Support the show

Rabindranath Tagore Sep 2, 2025 1:50:44 Send us Fan MailA selection of poems by the esteemed Indian polymath, Rabindranath Tagore.Email: poetrypodcats@gmail.comSupport the show

John Milton Jun 14, 2025 1:25:17 Send us Fan MailThree Poems by John Milton.Support the show

Wallace Stevens Feb 24, 2025 1:37:36 Send us Fan MailWe get even more boggled than usual tackling three head-scratchers by American modernist Wallace Stevens (1879-1955).Domination of BlackThe Emperor of Ice Cream13 Ways of Looking at a BlackbirdSupport the show

A Very Merry Versify Christmas Dec 17, 2024 1:25:19 Send us Fan MailRobert Frost, Alfred Lord Tennyson and William Carlos Williams hang their Christmas stockings and get a full serving of Versify rambling. Shorter than a usual episode. It's a Christmas miracle!Support the show

Thomas Hardy - Live in Alfriston Nov 19, 2024 1:25:45 Send us Fan MailVersify record their first live podcast in the beautiful Sussex village of Alfriston, tackling the poetry of British literary titan, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928).Poems: The Voice, The Convergence of the Twain, At Castle Boterel.Support the show

Rainer Maria Rilke - Part 02 May 22, 2024 1:52:05 Send us Fan MailWe cautiously dip our toe in Rilke's 'Duino Elegies' and get immediately swept out of our depth. Support the show

Rainer Maria Rilke - Part 01 Apr 17, 2024 1:45:11 Send us Fan MailWe blunder our way through our first ever poet in translation with predictably confused results. Our victim this time is revered Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926).Poems:EveningThe PantherArchaic Torso of ApolloSupport the show

Maya Angelou Mar 27, 2024 1:35:46 Send us Fan MailWe discuss the life and poetry of Maya Angelou (1928-2014).Support the show

John Keats Feb 12, 2024 1:54:05 Send us Fan MailWe tackle one of the almighty greats of English poetry with predictably sketchy results.'Reading King Lear', and odes on 'Melancholy' and 'A Grecian Urn' befuddle us plenty.Support the show

A Very Merry Versify Xmas 2023 Dec 21, 2023 1:15:16 Send us Fan MailA Very Merry Versify Xmas 2023Poetrye e cummingsJames MerrillHenry LongfellowSupport the show

Louis MacNeice Dec 15, 2023 2:17:08 Send us Fan MailPoetry discussionLouis MacNeice Louis MacNeice - MuseumsLouis MacNeice - Alcohol Louis MacNeice- Soap SudsSupport the show

Elizabeth Bishop Sep 29, 2023 1:53:14 Send us Fan MailAfter an unacceptable delay waiting for Rob to edit this episode, it is finally available!Three poems by American poet Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)Support the show

Percy Bysshe Shelley Jun 30, 2023 1:27:54 Send us Fan MailThree poems by Percy Bysshe ShelleySupport the show

Langston Hughes Mar 5, 2023 1:37:01 Send us Fan MailThree oafish English guys tackle the Poet Laureate of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1901-1967).Support the show

Carol Ann Duffy Jan 27, 2023 1:48:58 Send us Fan MailThree poems by the former poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Support the show

A Very Merry Versify Xmas Dec 27, 2022 1:32:37 Send us Fan MailBetjeman, Bly, Hardy - Three Christmas Poems and Seasons Greetings from the Versify Podcast.Support the show

Philip Larkin Nov 25, 2022 1:40:44 Send us Fan MailPhilip Larkin. The North Ship; Mr Bleaney; The Explosion.Support the show

Robert Frost Jul 24, 2022 1:54:10 Send us Fan MailRobert Frost - The Tuft of Flowers; On a Tree Fallen Across the Road; Acquainted with the NightSupport the show

Mai Black May 13, 2022 52:19 Send us Fan MailHigh excitement on the pod as we interview actual living poet Mai Black.Mai's book Thirty Angry Ghosts takes figures from across the world and gives their anger voice.In this Episode, we meet Anne Boleyn; Henry VIII and the Unknown Soldier.From Mai:'Thirty Angry Ghosts' is the result of my year in lockdown. Someone on 'Suffolk Writers Group' Facebook chal

Shakespeare's Sonnets Mar 25, 2022 1:28:39 Send us Fan MailThree of Shakespeare's sonnets get dusted off and stared at for a bit.Support the show

Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) Jan 29, 2022 1:29:26 Send us Fan MailThree poems by Andrew Marvell go under the blurry microscope.Support the show

Stephen Spender Dec 22, 2021 1:17:10 Send us Fan MailThree poems by Sir Stephen Spender."Hamburg, 1929""An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum""I Think Continually of Those Who Were Truly Great"Support the show

Edna St Vincent Millay Aug 15, 2021 1:45:13 Send us Fan MailDeparture Recuerdo Dirge Without MusicThe pod reads and reflects on three poems by Edna St Vincent MillaySupport the show

Theodore Roethke Jun 28, 2021 1:26:58 Send us Fan MailThree Poems by Theodore Roethke (1908-1963).Support the show

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Apr 17, 2021 1:50:02 Send us Fan MailThree poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892).email: poetrypodcats@gmail.comTwitter: @poetrypodcatsSupport the show

A.E. Housman Feb 27, 2021 1:19:25 Send us Fan MailThree poems by A.E. Housman (1859 – 1936).Support the show

Emily Dickinson Jan 23, 2021 1:37:41 Send us Fan MailVersify - The Poetry and English Literature PodcastThree poems by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)Safe in their Alabaster ChambersI Dreaded That First Robin SoA Precious - Mouldering Pleasure 'Tispoetrypodcats@gmail.comTwitter: @poetrypodcatsSupport the show

RS Thomas Dec 23, 2020 1:45:03 Send us Fan MailThree poems by the Welsh poet RS Thomas (1913-2000):The Country CleregyA Welsh TestamentTo A Young Poetpoetrypodcats@gmail.comTwitter: @poetrypodcatsSupport the show

William Carlos Williams Nov 11, 2020 1:43:42 Send us Fan MailA sampling of poems by the acclaimed US poet-physician William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) are tackled by the bungling co-hosts.Support the show

Wendy Cope Sep 29, 2020 1:47:35 Send us Fan MailA selection of poems from 'Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis' and 'Serious Concerns'Apologies to anybody who downloaded an earlier file that was out of synch.Support the show

W H Auden Aug 30, 2020 2:09:36 Send us Fan MailDiscussion of W H AudenPoems: The Novelist The Fall of Rome September 1st 1939 poetrypodcats@gmail.comSupport the show

Sylvia Plath Aug 5, 2020 1:58:11 Send us Fan MailDiscussion of Sylvia PlathMushrooms You'reCrossing the WaterSupport the show

Edgar Allan Poe Jul 13, 2020 2:13:47 Send us Fan MailThe Pod considers Edgar Allan Poe's Romance, The City in the Sea and The Conqueror Worm.Do email us with comments or suggestions (or corrections!) at:poetrypodcats@gmail.comSupport the show

Lord Byron Jun 16, 2020 1:35:24 Send us Fan MailThe pod considers Lord Byron's 1816 poem The Darkness.Support the show

Christina Rossetti May 28, 2020 1:45:56 Send us Fan MailWe discuss three poems by Christina RossettiHeart's Chill Between'Aloof' (from The Thread of Life)In an Artist's StudioSupport the show

Seamus Heaney May 10, 2020 1:44:34 Send us Fan MailThe crew discuss three Seamus Heaney poems: FollowerScaffoldingBadgersSupport the show

W.B. Yeats Apr 28, 2020 1:38:23 Send us Fan MailThe team dive in to three poems by WB Yeats.Second ComingSailing to ByzantiumLong Legged FlyComments/suggestions welcomed at poetrypodcats@gmail.comSupport the show

John Donne Apr 19, 2020 2:00:48 Send us Fan MailA first encounter with three John Donne poems.ApparitionSongSt Lucie's DayPoetrypodcats@gmail.comSupport the show

Sir John Betjeman Apr 8, 2020 1:50:01 Send us Fan MailSloughOn a Portrait of a Deaf ManYouth and Age on Beaulieu River HantsA Subaltern's Love SongSupport the show

Robert Graves Mar 28, 2020 1:47:24 Send us Fan MailMore of major poets being encountered by amateurs. Dead Cow FarmThe Cool WebA Childs NightmareSupport the show

Edward Thomas Jan 2, 2020 1:21:43 Send us Fan MailMore of major poets being encountered by amateurs.The Manor Farm Haymakin As the Teams Head BrassSupport the show

Ted Hughes Oct 17, 2019 1:05:12 Send us Fan MailWe read and discuss three Ted Hughes poems: The BearHawk RoostingMeetingSupport the show

Love Conquers All Shakespeare's Sonnet Oct 13, 2019 30:25 Send us Fan MailThis is a reading and some discussion of Shakespeare's sonnet Love Conquers All.It is also the first episode of the pod in which technical and structural issues are discussed!Support the show

Versify - Poetry and English Literature

Episodes

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