On the Road with Penguin Classics John Donne's poetry with Katherine Rundell
Jan 18, 2024
In this engaging discussion, Katherine Rundell, a scholar and children's author celebrated for her biography of John Donne, dives into the poet's complex life and work. Rundell explores the emotional depth of Donne's poetry, focusing on love, loss, and mortality. She shares personal anecdotes about her early encounters with his writing and examines how his tumultuous marriage influenced his artistry. The conversation also highlights the duality of Donne's life—his transformation from a rebellious poet to the esteemed Dean of St Paul's Cathedral.
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Childhood Memory That Sparked A Career
- Katherine Rundell recalls memorising Donne poems as a child for pocket money and learning them by the bathroom sink.
- Her early exposure to Donne seeded a lifelong fascination that became Super-Infinite.
Poems Traveled By Hand
- Donne's poems circulated privately as manuscripts, copied and altered by hand rather than published widely.
- Editors' educated reconstructions shape the texts we read today more than Donne's own printed intentions.
Original Metaphors Renew Emotion
- Donne broke from courtly metaphors and invented startling images to describe love and sex.
- His originality lets readers reach across centuries to fresh human truths.