Mark Anderson
Are you wanting to learn more about uk poetry? Well you’ve come to the right place. This is a curated list of the best uk poetry podcasts of 2021.
We have selected these podcasts for a variety of reasons, but they are all well worth a listen. We tried to select a variety of podcasts across the spectrum from hosts with a wide breadth of experience.
Best UK Poetry Podcasts 2021
With thanks to ListenNotes, Crunchbase, SemRush and Ahrefs for providing the data to create and rank these podcasts.
The Poetry Society
- Publisher: The Poetry Society
- Total Episodes: 102
The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 to promote “a more general recognition and appreciation of poetry”. Since then, it has grown into one of Britain’s most dynamic arts organisations, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally. Today it has more than 4000 members worldwide and publishes the leading poetry magazine, The Poetry Review. With innovative education and commissioning programmes and a packed calendar of performances, readings and competitions, the Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. “The Poetry Society is the heart and hands of poetry in the UK – a centre which pours out energy to all parts of the poetry-body, and a dexterous set of operations which arrange and organise poetry’s various manifestations. It has a long distinguished history, and has never been so vital, or so vitalizing as it is now.” Sir Andrew Motion
Poem-a-Day
- Publisher: The Academy of American Poets
- Total Episodes: 446
Poem-a-Day is the original, daily poetry series featuring new poems by today’s poets. Produced by the Academy of American Poets, this free digital series is made possible by you, our readers and listeners.Theme music by Kat Rejsek. Audio engineering by Nadra Mabrouk.Learn more about Poem-a-Day and, if you can, please consider supporting this series by making a gift at poets.org/give.
Big Juicy Creative
- Publisher: Suzy Bashford
- Total Episodes: 62
Big Juicy Creative is the show which nurtures your busy creative soul, so you thrive personally and professionally. You could be in a ‘creative’ career, like marketing or the arts, or maybe you wish you did something more creative. This podcast will show you how, if you approach your life with creativity – a bit more openness, curiosity, self-expression, imagination – it will become bigger, juicier and more meaningful. Creativity is about way more than painting or poetry, and this show brings you inspirational tales from beyond the creative department, from farming to fractions. Your host, Suzy Bashford, is a freelance journalist, who writes about creativity among other things, a workshop facilitator and a speaker. As well as interviews, she’ll bring you shorter, solo podcasts where she sums up and test-drives the advice she’s given, reporting back to you with her trademark honesty. Suzy is a mum on a mission to unleash our collective creativity so we can solve the world’s big problems… and we need buckets of creativity for that, so please get listening! For more info: www.bigjuicycreative.co.uk IG: @bigjuicycreativeliving FB: @bigjuicycreative LI: Suzy Bashford
Heard/Unheard – The Lit Studio
- Publisher: Vikram Singh Thakur
- Total Episodes: 6
“Heard/unheard – The Lit Studio” is a podcast hosted by Vikram. With a Ph.D in literature, passion for poetry and love for theatre, this lit-prof brings for his listeners some heard/unheard stories about authors and their works ranging from Rumi, Amir Khusrow, Ghalib, Manto, Jaun Eliya and Muktibodh among others. Each episode will unravel a new writer. Traversing languages and cultures the podcast will take you on an engaging literary journey. Follow me on: Instagram.com/vsthakur01 Twitter.com/vsthakur_01 Or email at: [email protected]
Dig This
- Publisher: Rich Buckland
- Total Episodes: 291
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at American Idol or the MTV Music Awards can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith and Bukowski and Lenny and Noam Chomsky and Oliver freakin Hardy. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that my desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
Living with the Poets: Life Lessons from the Romantics
- Publisher: John Strachan and Duncan Wu
- Total Episodes: 9
‘Living with the Poets: Life Lessons from the Romantics’ looks at the way in which nineteenth-century poets such as Wordsworth, Keats and Byron can help us live our lives in the twenty-first century. A podcast by Bath Spa University, UK, and Georgetown University, USA. Text by John Strachan and Duncan Wu. Talks read by Rebecca McGuire-Snieckus, John Strachan, and Duncan Wu. Poetry read by John Rowe. Produced by Andrei Branea.
Say Owt Podcast
- Publisher: Say Owt Podcast
- Total Episodes: 49
Say Owt’s mission is to promote and platform live snappy spoken-word in York. So we’re getting together with our favourite poets to have a lovely chat over a nice cup of tea. Talking experiences, inspirations and taking you behind the scenes of what poetry truly means to them. www.sayowt.co.uk
Ammar AlShukry
- Publisher: Muslim Central
- Total Episodes: 161
Ammar AlShukry is the AlMaghrib Grand Slam Champion, excelling in his involvement at every capacity volunteer, original Ameer of QTayybah, HQ staff, graduate and now instructor. Ammar began seeking knowledge in New York with a wide variety of teachers in Quran, Hadith, Aqeedah, Fiqh and Tafseer. Beyond the tri-state he was able to benefit from scholars throughout the United States such as Shaykh Salah Al-Sawwy, Dr.Hatem El-Haj, Shaykh Mamdouh Mahmoud, and extensive study with Vice-President of AlMaghrib Institute, Shaykh Waleed Basyouni. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Sciences with AlMaghrib Institute. He has the ability to walk seamlessly between generations. Ammar is also very well known for his thought-provoking and heart-moving poetry with classics such as “Jannah”, “Until I See You”, and “The Witr Du’a”
Jonathan Brown
- Publisher: Muslim Central
- Total Episodes: 23
Jonathan Brown is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and he is the Director of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding. He received his BA in History from Georgetown University in 2000 and his doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2006. Dr. Brown has studied and conducted research in countries such as Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Iran. His book publications include The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (Brill, 2007), Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (Oneworld, 2009) and Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011), which was selected for the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Bridging Cultures Muslim Journeys Bookshelf. His most recent book, Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy (Oneworld, 2014), was named one of the top books on religion in 2014 by the Independent. He has published articles in the fields of Hadith, Islamic law, Salafism, Sufism, Arabic lexical theory and Pre-Islamic poetry and is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law. Dr. Brown’s current research interests include Islamic legal reform and a translation of Sahih al-Bukhari.
Bass Culture UK – How Bass Music Shaped British Culture
- Publisher: Black Culture Research Unit
- Total Episodes: 13
Bass Culture UK is the Black Music Research Unit at the University of Westminster, an academic research project exploring the impact of Jamaican and Jamaican-influenced music on British culture. Covering the period from the 1960s to the present day, with an initial focus on London and a particular interest in the years 1976 – 1981. We explore the impact of Bass Culture through the explosion of Jamaican genres like ska, reggae and dub in the UK to the development of distinct British variants like dub poetry, two-tone and lovers rock. We examine how and why this music’s influence has and continues to transform British pop from Susan Cadogan or The Clash to Stormzy. We also explore Bass Culture as a creative practice, an independent economy and a source of alternative philosophical and political ideas. This podcast is a collection of interviews with the people both behind the scenes and in the limelight of British Black Music.
Wildverse Poems from Fun Kids
- Publisher: Fun Kids
- Total Episodes: 62
Listen to the winning poems in this year’s childrens wildlife poetry competition on Fun Kids, the UK’s only radio station dedicated to children.
The Brave Educator Podcast
- Publisher: Tim’m West
- Total Episodes: 14
On the Brave Educator post, author, poet, Hip Hop artist, and education advocate Tim’m West will share a story, converse with someone he loves and continues to learn from, and he will close with some poetry. All are encouraged to submit questions on topics covered on the podcast to [email protected]. When possible Tim’m will answer these questions on a future podcast. About Tim’mTim’m T. West is an educator, poet, youth advocate, and hip-hop artist who has spent decades traveling the nation, speaking about issues at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality and social justice. A graduate of Duke University (BA), The New School for Social Research (MA) and Stanford University (MA), he is the author of several books and hip-hop projects, and is widely anthologized. He has also appeared in multiple documentaries at the intersection of hip hop and black masculinity. Prior to joining Teach For America in 2014, Tim’m served as inaugural faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, impacted educational outcomes as an English teacher and basketball coach at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy, and more recently as Director of Youth Services at Chicago’s Center on Halsted. A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Tim’m was named one of 31 icons during LGBT History Month in October of 2015. Tim’m currently leads Teach For America’s national LGBTQ+ Community Initiative, advancing safer and braver classrooms for LGBTQ+ educators and students in grades preK-12. He is also a Professor and Lecturer at Humboldt State University.
The Way We View Life
- Publisher: Precious Onyeukwu
- Total Episodes: 8
The Way We View Life is a podcast that puts light on different topics such as; love,friendship, hardship, religion, poetry, etc. I created this podcast to give young adults a platform to voice their opinions. This podcast is hosted by Precious Onyeukwu. Join me on this journey as we view life together. Subscribe to The Way We View Life and follow the podcast’s Instagram @theway_weview_life for updates. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theway–weviewlife/support
Squishy & Delishy
- Publisher: Squishy & Delishy
- Total Episodes: 25
Squishy and Delishy is a podcast full of poetry and music for kids. Here you’ll find rap battles between breakfast and dinner robots, girls belching symphonies, and scrambled eggs singing country songs. Each episode is one poem or song so if you have a favorite you can get right to it, or hit play and let the episodes roll like a playlist. If you’re ready for some good times with fine rhymes, hit it! Written/directed by Kevin Tenglin, Luke Harris and Robbin Makled. Music director is Scarlet Newman-Thomas. Music supervisor is Buzzy Cohen at The Teenage Diplomat. Intro music by Tim Fagan.
Poetry Koan
- Publisher: Steve W.
- Total Episodes: 36
In which Steve (psychotherapist, reader + various other selves) engages with a poem or a collection of poetry from a writer that has lit up his/their world in some way, exploring the other writer’s work as an existential koan or riddle. The implicit premise being that the poems and books which “speak to us” deeply are trying to convey in their voicing some kind of encoded wisdom which we might have access to and benefit from, if like a traditional koan, we try engaging with them, heart and soul. Feedback/chat: stevewasserman AT gmail DOT com Website: stevewasserman.co.uk Twitter: @poetrykoan
Tell Me The Truth About Life: Poems That Matter and Why
- Publisher: Tell Me The Truth About Life: Poems That Matter and Why
- Total Episodes: 6
The first official podcast from National Poetry Day and Michael O’Mara books to celebrate National Poetry Day’s 25th anniversary. Introduced by Cerys Matthews, five much-loved names – Michael Morpurgo, Jade Anouka, Henry Normal, Nikita Gill and Kate Clanchy – read and discuss their favourite poems with Susannah Herbert, Executive Director of Forward Arts Foundation. ‘A terrific new series’ – The Financial Times
Story Radio Podcast
- Publisher: Story Radio Podcast
- Total Episodes: 18
A new monthly podcast dedicated to celebrating the literary short story and all things bookish. Bite-size short fiction for writers and readers everywhere. Listen to a short story on the 1st of each month at 12:00am. Hosted by Tabitha Potts and open to new and emerging writers in the English language. Always free to submit. You can also submit online via our website www.storyradio.org We are a small organisation run by volunteer writers and producers (Tabitha Potts and Martin Nathan) hoping to benefit the writing community. Our eventual aim is to be self-funding and to pay our writers for each short story we transmit. Visit our Patreon if you would like to support our work and access exclusive content. Send us your stories Contact Tabitha Potts at [email protected] Please submit your short story (2500 words or less) as a PDF/Word doc (with your 50 word biography). If you wish you can also submit your recorded 8 to 10 minute mp3 for consideration but we can record this for you if you aren’t able to read it yourself. Editing, intros and outros, FX and music will be added by us. If you make an error while recording, pause and start again – we can edit it out. Record in a quiet place without background noise. Copyright in your story remains with you, we ask only that we can podcast your story for one year. We have had a very generous offer from a fellow podcaster Austin Malone to read your story if you have no access to technology or are unable to record an MP3 for any reason. Please let us know if you would like his help. Austin Malone is a voice-actor who has narrated stories for Pseudopod, Podcastle, and The Melting Potcast. A native of New Orleans, he can frequently be found in the dark corners of nerdy, writing-themed bars. In the virtual world, he can be found at his website: sippinghemlocktea.com. We have also had an exciting offer to record short stories from actor Nigel Fyfe. Nigel is an experienced actor and voice-over artist and you can read about him and listen to his work on his website. About us Tabitha Potts is a writer living in East London. She has had several short stories published in print and online and been short-listed and long-listed for various awards, most recently the Sunderland University Short Story Award. In a previous life, she was a BBC Radio Drama producer. Read more at http://www.tabithapotts.com. Martin Nathan has worked as a labourer, showman, pancake chef, fire technician, and a railway engineer. His short fiction has been published by Tangent Press, HCE and Grist and his poetry has appeared in Finished Creatures, Erbacce and Aesthetica. His novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing. Website: http://www.martinnathan.co.uk
Simon Wells The Wishing Line
- Publisher: Griffiths
- Total Episodes: 1
British, Author, Poet and Musician, Simon Wells discusses his new poetry book, The Wishing Line with Radio Woking’s, The Fiery Bird www.simon-wells.co.uk
Words from Within
- Publisher: St. Luke’s Youth Center (SLYC)
- Total Episodes: 6
Four families from St. Luke’s Youth Center in West Baltimore take a poetry workshop and tell their stories of love and pain through the art of spoken word poetry. A podcast fundraiser for SLYC, hosted by Gayle Danley, produced by Walker Vreeland. To make a donation, visit wordsfromwithin.net
First World War Poetry Digital Archive
- Publisher: Oxford University
- Total Episodes: 34
Podcasts created by the First World War Poetry Digital Archive Project at Oxford University. This project is digitising the manuscripts of the major British poets of WW1 and making them freely available online, along with a set of teaching resources. The project is funded by the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) – and run by Oxford University’s English Faculty and Computing Services (http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit).
