‘I’m very conscious of how I respond to the sounds in the poem, and often before I am aware of what meaning I am going to gather from it, I’m just affected by the weight and texture of sounds, the flavour of words… it’s something in the body that just gives me goosebumps…’
This episode, Planet Poetry has Hawthornden Prize winner John McCullough tucked under its origami wing. John entices us with his three poetry collections: The Frost Fairs (Salt Publishing), Spacecraft and Reckless Paper Birds (Penned in the Margins), and praises the virtues of playful language and learning your craft. We’ll take in roof-removing storms, vanished Old English letters and Lady Gaga. Plus Peter is enticed into Babylonian shenanigans by The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Robin beguiles us with how to extricate yourself a magical debut collection from Laura Theis.