Afraid of Poetry?

Our first episode on poetry? If you’ve been following Arts First for a while you’ll know we’ve looked at the life and work of William Blake, discussed the Genius of Shakespeare and we had a stab at Homer’s epic the Odyssey, but up to now, we haven’t talked specifically about poetry. I’d been thinking about this for quite a while and felt we really should do something. However I seldom read poetry and studied almost no poetry at secondary school.

On the rare occasions I pick up a book of poetry, I’m never quite sure what to make of it, how to read it, how to judge it. Is it good, is it bad? Should I feel moved, should I laugh or maybe cry? I am never quite sure.

So where to start? Since I’ve not long moved to Hastings, the self-styled Poet Town, I thought I’d find myself a poet roaming the streets and pressgang them onto the show. Luckily I knew just where to find a very good one - the wonderful Tim Rich - who willingly agreed to my demands.

I said to Tim, look I really want to do a show on poetry, but I don’t know where to start. I’m a bit clueless. You could say I’m a bit scared of poetry. Maybe I should leave it a while, do some reading and procrastinate a bit more?

Tim said, I actually wrote a poem called Afraid of Poetry because one or two other people said the same thing to me. Well isn’t that interesting, I thought and we both agreed this could be a good starting point for a conversation. Let’s talk about it and see if it’s true. If so, why, what’s going? Is it psychological? Does Tim just have weird friends? Is poetry in decline more broadly? Has something changed in our culture or our education system? If nothing else, we can always blame the teachers.

So that’s what we do. We talk about poetry, its current state of health today, how to approach it as a reader, how to enjoy it and how not to be afraid. Tim also reads us a couple of his poems and very kindly gives us some reading recommendations (see below).

By the way, I did procrastinate more before we got around to doing this show. I went to a couple of poetry readings. I survived, and very much enjoyed an evening of the Waste Land at Wiltons Music Hall, read brilliantly by a famous actor. I bought a pocketbook of Walt Whitman poems. I read a little from the William Blake I’d bought for podcast research. I flicked through a friend’s wonderfully moving collection of First World War Poetry. I even opened my book of Hannah Arendt poems someone gave to me as a birthday present quite a while ago. Maybe poetry is not so scary after all!

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I enjoyed talking to Tim. I hope you feel inspired to read more poetry.

P.S. You might notice that we recorded our discussion in my kitchen, which I thought would make a welcome change from our usual online meetings. However, it was a very very sunny day, so I apologise if the video is a bit bright at times, and that I am sat at a bit of an angle to the camera. We don’t have access or resources for a flashy podcast studio, but we hope that does not put you off or spoil your enjoyment.

Tim Rich…

is a poet, writer, editor, and New York Times Bestselling ghostwriter. He lives and writes in Hastings, England. He also takes lo-fi photographs. His work appears in numerous anthologies, journals, and exhibitions—and at readings and events.

Tim’s links and reading recommendations

Hundred House Press

John Carey - A Little History of Poetry

Diane Seuss - Modern Poetry, Frank: Sonnets

Neil Baker - Knock Wood

Thomas Sharp