WSG Makars’ Court: Memorial stone unveiled by Jackie Kay (Scots Makar) in the Makars’ Court, Edinburgh, June 2018. Photograph courtesy of David Lindsay.
W. S. Graham with his father, Alexander Graham, Princes Pier, Greenock, 1933. Photographer unknown. Reproduced by kind permission of Rosalind Mudaliar, the Estate of W. S. Graham.
This is the last poem that Ted Hughes was working on before his death in 1998. It is a translation of Pushkin’s ‘The Prophet’. The Prophet Crazed by my soul’s thirst Through a dark land I staggered, And a six-winged seraph Halted me at a crossroads. With fingers of dream He touched my eye-pupils. My…
In the final episode of our first series of the Faber Poetry Podcast, Rachael and Jack are joined in the studio by Edward Doegar and Ishion Hutchinson, who discuss the value of a ‘fake’ talisman and the violence and beauty that can be found in a game of marbles. Our final audio postcards of the…
In the penultimate episode of our first series, Rachael and Jack are joined in the studio by Holly Pester and Sam Riviere, plus a pat of butter and a set of nail clippers, which inspire conversations about poetry writing and its relationship to research, archives and procrastination. Audio postcards this episode come from Will Harris,…
In this episode, Rachael and Jack talk fatherhood, the lyric I and the magical sound of a garden pond with their guests Wayne Holloway-Smith and Maurice Riordan and there are audio postcards from Mary Jean Chan, Kaveh Akbar and Nisha Ramayya. Show notes Studio guests WAYNE HOLLOWAY-SMITH’s first collection of poetry was…
In the third episode, Rachael and Jack chat in the studio with Richard Scott and Jane Yeh, discussing, among other things, the importance of recognising gay shame, the difference between biographical honesty and poetic honesty and a shared love for Star Trek (The Next Generation, obviously). Audio postcards this episode come from Peter Gizzi, Emily Toder…
In the second episode of the Faber Poetry Podcast, Rachael and Jack have Sophie Collins and Emily Critchley in the studio to discuss, among other things, female authorship, having a lightbulb moment for Denise Riley and the art of leaving a poem without a conventional ending. Audio postcards in this episode come from Jillian Weise,…
In the first episode of the Faber Poetry Podcast, Rachael and Jack discuss talismans, teenage crushes and gateways to poetry with their studio guests Emily Berry and Momtaza Mehri and play audio postcards sent to them by Ocean Vuong, Natalie Shapero and Vahni Capildeo. Show notes Studio guests EMILY BERRY’S first book…
The Faber Poetry Podcast is a twice-monthly podcast bringing together some of the most exciting voices from the world of poetry, produced and presented by poets Rachael Allen and Jack Underwood. Whether you’re a devotee or a newcomer to verse, join Rachael and Jack for lively conversation with their studio guests and audio postcards sent…
Published today, Hannah Sullivan’s debut collection, Three Poems, is a revelation – three long poems of fresh ambition, intensity and substance. To mark it’s publication, we have an exclusive recording of Hannah reading the first poem in the collection, ‘You, Very Young in New York’, described by Lara Feigel as ‘a pellucid slow-motion account of the half-pleasurable…
Earlier this month, the acclaimed poet Ishion Hutchinson visited the UK to mark the publication of House of Lords and Commons, his first collection to be published by Faber. Here, Matthew Hollis, Faber’s Poetry Editor, reflects on getting to know Ishion, the poet and the person. ‘I look at a good many poetry scripts every…
To mark the publication of this previously unseen curation of Sylvia Plath’s Letters, leading Plath scholar Peter K. Steinberg reflects on the process of bringing Plath to life through her correspondence. We have ‘come asking for [her] letters’ When Karen V. Kukil asked me to be the lead transcriber on a book of Sylvia Plath’s letters…
‘Freedom’: what does the word mean to you? The theme of 2017’s National Poetry Day asks that question through the prism of verse and to celebrate the occasion we’ve asked some of Faber’s dedicated poetry readers to choose a poet, poem or book of poetry that encapsulates, for them, ideas of freedom. Here is their…
All quotes, unless otherwise stated, are taken from W. S. Graham’s New Selected Poems (Faber & Faber, 2018). Cover image: W. S. Graham, with his painting on glass, in the Old Coastguard Cottage, Gurnard’s Head, 1958. Copyright © the Estate of Michael Seward Snow, 2018.
