Close Readings

London Review of Books

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Nov 29, 2025 • 17min

Next Year on Close Readings: Realism, Nature, Narrative Poems and a history of London

Meehan Crist is a writer exploring the intersection of science, politics, and culture, while Peter Godfrey-Smith is a philosopher focusing on biology and mind. They discuss the urgent themes of their 'Nature in Crisis' series, including landmark environmental texts like 'Silent Spring' and the relevance of ecofascism. Crist and Godfrey-Smith also delve into how literature and philosophy can illuminate contemporary ecological challenges, mapping the landscape of environmental discourse and its profound implications for society.
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Nov 24, 2025 • 18min

Love and Death: Thom Gunn and Paul Muldoon

Explore the poignant elegance of Thom Gunn’s poetry, deeply influenced by the AIDS crisis and his experiences in California. Discover his unique blend of Elizabethan style and contemporary themes, as well as his rejection of confessional poetry. The discussion shifts to Paul Muldoon’s playful and rich elegies, where form and depth collide. Delve into the emotional landscape of ‘Talbot Road’ and how Gunn intricately weaves allusions to his life and relationships, creating powerful portraits through verse.
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Nov 17, 2025 • 14min

Fiction and the Fantastic: Two Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin

Chloe Ridges, a novelist and short story writer, joins to explore Ursula K. Le Guin's innovative contributions to literature. They delve into Le Guin's rebellion against genre limitations and her radical political vision. The discussion highlights the Taoist influences in her writing and the impact of her anthropologist parents on her work. Ridges distills key concepts from *The Left Hand of Darkness* and *The Dispossessed*, examining themes of gender roles and societal structures, providing insights into how Le Guin's narratives challenge conventional norms.
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Nov 10, 2025 • 14min

'The Sovereignty of Good' by Iris Murdoch

Dive into Iris Murdoch's exploration of morality, where she encourages moral labor through an anecdote about a mother learning to accept her son’s wife. Discover her rebellion against Oxford’s analytic philosophy, advocating instead for a Platonic view of morality akin to mathematics. Murdoch's concept of 'unselfing' serves as a fresh alternative to divine guidance, challenging traditional beliefs while critiquing modern self-portrayals. A fascinating intersection of philosophy and literature unfolds, revealing her unique vision of goodness.
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Nov 3, 2025 • 17min

Novel Approaches: ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Louis Stevenson

In this engaging discussion, novelist Andrew O’Hagan and author Tom Crewe dive into the world of Robert Louis Stevenson and his classic, Kidnapped. O’Hagan shares insights on the historical Appin murder and its political implications, while Crewe offers a glimpse into Stevenson’s fascinating upbringing and literary journey. The duo also explores Stevenson’s innovative narrative techniques and the profound social themes woven throughout the adventure tale, revealing how it transcends simple storytelling to address complex human experiences.
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Oct 27, 2025 • 15min

Love and Death: Elegies for Poets by Auden, Arnold and Schuyler

When poets elegise other poets, the results are often more about self-scrutiny and analysis of the nature of poetry than about grief. Matthew Arnold commented on his elegy for Arthur Hugh Clough, ‘Thyrsis’ (1865), that ‘one has the feeling that not enough is said about Clough in it.’ In his elegy for W.B. Yeats (1939), Auden insists that ‘poetry makes nothing happen’. Both poems resist idealisation of their subject and use the elegy’s pastoral tradition as a way of distancing themselves from the poetic sensibility of their subject. In this episode, Seamus and Mark discuss the ways in which Arnold and Auden’s visions of what a poet should be aren’t so far apart, and finish with a look at James Schuyler’s similarly unromantic elegy for Auden, in which he finds ‘so little to say’. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrld⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsld⁠⁠ Arnold's 'Thyrsis': ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/ldep11thyrsis⁠⁠⁠⁠ Auden's 'In Memory of W.B. Yeats': ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/ldep11yeats⁠⁠⁠⁠ More in the LRB: Seamus Perry on Auden: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/ldep11auden⁠⁠⁠⁠ Stefan Collini on Arnold: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/ldep11arnold⁠
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Oct 19, 2025 • 15min

Fiction and the Fantastic: J.G. Ballard and Angela Carter

Exploring the dynamic friendship of J.G. Ballard and Angela Carter reveals their shared disdain for conventional literature. They challenge traditional narratives through bold, transgressive works, like Ballard’s unsettling 'The Atrocity Exhibition.' The podcast debates whether this fragmented piece qualifies as a novel and analyzes its themes of apocalypse and trauma. Carter’s vibrant style and cultural critiques also come to light, raising questions about the resonance of their outrageous visions in today's world.
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Oct 13, 2025 • 16min

Conversations in Philosophy: 'The Fall' by Albert Camus

Delve into the moral complexities of Camus's 'The Fall' as a retired lawyer grapples with his own hypocrisy in a bar. The podcast explores the dangers of ethical purity and how small acts of virtue can mask deeper flaws. Discover connections between Camus, Beauvoir, and Sartre, highlighting Camus's essays as insightful commentaries rather than rigid philosophy. The discussion also touches on his unfinished literary ambitions and the unique narrative style that makes his profound messages accessible.
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Oct 5, 2025 • 15min

Novel Approaches: ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ by Henry James

Colm Toíbín, a celebrated novelist and contributing editor at the London Review of Books, joins to explore Henry James's iconic work, The Portrait of a Lady. They delve into how James innovatively crafted Isabel Archer as a new type of heroine, blending influences from Eliot and Austen. The discussion reveals the significance of the novel's subtle yet profound inner drama, the complexities of ambition for women in the 19th century, and the impact of James's revisions on the story. Toíbín's insights provide a fresh lens on this literary masterpiece.
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Sep 29, 2025 • 16min

Love and Death: 'Surge' by Jay Bernard and 'In Nearby Bushes' by Kei Miller

Jay Bernard’s 'Surge' and Kei Miller’s 'In Nearby Bushes', both published in 2019, address acts of violence whose victims were not directly known to the writers: in Surge, the deaths of thirteen Black teenagers in the New Cross Fire of 1981; in Miller’s poem, a series of rapes and murders in Jamaica. Both can be seen as collective elegies, interleaving newspaper and medical reports, and other archival documents, with more lyrical passages, and both can be read as comments on the state of the nation as well as personal expressions of desolation. While Bernard’s poem opens out into an investigation of radical Black history and the marginalisation of Black communities in London, Miller uses blanked-out newspaper items, among other techniques, to search for the ‘understory’, an experience beyond language, which is in turn connected to colonial, and pre-colonial, Jamaica. In this episode, Mark and Seamus consider the different ways these poets respond to the shocking events they depict, while also incorporating them into a broader poetic landscape. Watch Jay Bernard reading from 'Surge' at the London Review Bookshop: https://youtu.be/XTZKYEimq2Y Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrld⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsld

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