Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast

This week, Frank enters the funny but unsettling world of Selima Hill. The collection referenced is ‘Men Who Feed Pigeons’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, John Keats talks to pottery. The poem referenced is ‘Ode on A Grecian Urn’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we look at a John Masefield poem from 1911, in which a naked drunk runs through a town at midnight, threatening firefighters with their own hose-nozzles. The poems referenced are ‘Sea-Fever’, ‘The Everlasting Mercy’, ‘Dauber’ and ‘Partridges’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week: why do so many of us stagger through life leaving a trail of chaos and confusion? American poet, Kay Ryan, reveals it’s because we are carrying an invisible ladder. The poems referenced are ‘We’re Building the Ship As We Sail It’, ‘Carrying A Ladder’ and ‘Blandeur’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, American poet, Richard Wilbur, explains why stones aren’t very ambitious. The poems referenced are ‘A Dubious Night’ and ‘Two Voices in A Meadow’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, American Poet Laureate, Ada Limón heads for the safe haven of the parental raincoat. The poems referenced are ‘The Contract Says: We’d Like the Conversation to be Bilingual’, ‘The Raincoat’ and ‘Before’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ted Hughes, a renowned poet, discusses the themes in his poetry, his belief in symbolism and messages in nature, and his ability to see beyond the physical. They analyze his poem 'The Thought Fox' and explore the imagery and symbolism it contains. The podcast also includes observations at the zoo, describing the behavior of different animals, and the exploration of symbols of creativity and imagination in poetry.

This week, our Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, writes a brilliant poem about what some might think is an unlikely subject. The poem referenced is ‘The Patriarchs – An Elegy’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Carol Ann Duffy considers the profound, prayer-like quality of the Shipping Forecast. The poems referenced are ‘Death of a Teacher’ and ‘Prayer’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, John Betjeman gets a tennis-based humiliation from the girl of his dreams. The poem referenced is ‘A Subaltern’s Love Song’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices