Close Readings
London Review of Books
Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series.
How To Subscribe
In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes.
Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings
STARTING IN 2026
'Who's Afraid of Realism?' with James Wood and guests
'Nature in Crisis' with Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith
'Narrative Poems' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford
'London Revisited' with Rosemary Hill and guests
Bonus Series: 'The Man Behind the Curtain' with Tom McCarthy and Thomas Jones
RUNNING IN 2025:
'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood
'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis
'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford
'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION:
'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones
'Medieval Beginnings' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley
'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones
'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell
'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards
'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley
Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How To Subscribe
In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes.
Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings
STARTING IN 2026
'Who's Afraid of Realism?' with James Wood and guests
'Nature in Crisis' with Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith
'Narrative Poems' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford
'London Revisited' with Rosemary Hill and guests
Bonus Series: 'The Man Behind the Curtain' with Tom McCarthy and Thomas Jones
RUNNING IN 2025:
'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood
'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis
'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford
'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION:
'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones
'Medieval Beginnings' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley
'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones
'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell
'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards
'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry
'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley
Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 6, 2022 • 13min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: A.E. Housman
In the sixth episode of Modern-ish Poets Series 1, Mark and Seamus discuss the life and work of Worcestershire lad A. E. Housman, whose imaginative poetic landscape of a vanishing England in A Shropshire Lad, with its expression of the agony of thwarted love which can find no resolution, became a runaway bestseller during and after the First World War.This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps here: lrb.me/closereadingsSeamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and Mark Ford is Professor of English Literature at University College London.This episode was first published on the LRB Podcast in October 2018, and is now available in full exclusively for Close Readings subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 5, 2022 • 13min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Stevie Smith
In the fifth episode of Modern-ish Poets Series 1 Mark and Seamus discuss the life and work of Stevie Smith, ‘an eccentric poet with a tenacious reputation,’ and a famous performer of her poetry, considering the despair that underlines her best work, its tonal slipperiness, her exceptional facility with rhyme and off-rhyme, and her use of faux-naif personas and perspectives.This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps here: lrb.me/closereadingsSeamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and Mark Ford is Professor of English Literature at University College London.This episode was first published on the LRB Podcast in August 2018, and is now available in full exclusively for Close Readings subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 4, 2022 • 13min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Thomas Hardy
In the fourth episode of Modern-ish Poets, Mark and Seamus discuss the life and work of Thomas Hardy, with its blend of bitterness of tenderness, its intense dramatisations of loss and grief, and its inversion of traditional tropes of love poetry to anticipate the attitudes of later 20th century writers.This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps here: lrb.me/closereadingsSeamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and Mark Ford is Professor of English Literature at University College London.This episode was first published on the LRB Podcast in June 2018, and is now available in full exclusively for Close Readings subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 3, 2022 • 12min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Elizabeth Bishop
Explore the life and work of American poet Elizabeth Bishop with insights from Mark and Seamus. They discuss her unique approach to form, domesticating heroic themes, and the emotional disruption in her poetry. Delve into her childhood, battle with alcoholism, and dedication to perfection in crafting poetic forms.
Oct 2, 2022 • 11min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: W.H. Auden
In the second episode of Modern-ish Poets Series 1, Mark and Seamus discuss life and work of W. H. Auden, from the influence of his parents and his political development, to how his poetry emerged from a meeting of English tradition with high modernism, and its formal response to the fractured nature of his times.This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps here: lrb.me/closereadingsSeamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and Mark Ford is Professor of English Literature at University College London.This episode was first published on the LRB Podcast in August 2017, and is now available in full exclusively for Close Readings subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 1, 2022 • 10min
Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Philip Larkin
For their first episode of Modern-ish Poets Series 1, Mark Ford and Seamus Perry look at the life and work of Philip Larkin, a poet written about extensively in the archive of the London Review of Books.This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps here: lrb.me/closereadingsThis episode was first published on the LRB Podcast in May 2017, and is now available in full exclusively for Close Readings subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
