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This week I make a case for the short WWI poem Adelstrop by Edward Thomas. Then things get a little experimental as I try to answer the question: How does this poem operate in 2016? (Mild spoilers towards the end for Helen Macdonald’s beautiful memoir H is for Hawk.) 

If you’re keen to go deeper into this type of poetry you can find the free lectures I’m talking about at Open Yale Courses. (Langdon Hammer is the charming English literature professor you never had.)

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You might already know Robbie Coburn as co-host of the fantastic Australian Poetry Podcast (a must listen for AusPo fans).

Today Robbie tells us his own story, from his first publication in Pi O’s Unusual Work to his recent appearance in Poetry magazine. The poem we dive into this week is High Windows by Phillip Larkin, followed by a sneak peak of Robbie’s forthcoming book, The Other Flesh.

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In today’s bumper episode I get to have an in-depth chat with Queensland-based poet Stuart Barnes. We cover how he came to poetry through none other than Tasmanian poet Gwen Harwood, then dive into Sylvia Plath’s poem Ariel. We also talk about the art of the remix poem, how to write a cento, and the upcoming launch of Stu’s first book, Glasshouses, out from University of Queensland Press.  

In this episode:

• Gwen Harwood
• Ariel by Sylvia Plath
• The Rabbit Catcher by Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and the remix by Stu and previous guest Michele Seminara
• Stu’s cento Tenons
• The Queensland Poetry Festival

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The wonderful PoemTalk podcast tackled Ted Berrigan’s 3 Pages back in 2008. For this episode, I’m jumping in with my own interpretation of this ever-shifting poem.

Listen to Berrigan’s amazing reading here. And if you have your own ideas about this (or any other) poem, get in touch.

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Since reading All the dead boys look like me, a poem for Orlando by Christopher Soto (aka Loma), I’ve understood the tragedy that happened there in an entirely new way. I’ve also been thinking about Walt Whitman’s all-encompassing poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry – a poem that seems to have no boundaries.

If you like the sound of the poetry course I mention this week, you can sign up for ModPo here.

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