I met up with Hannah Crawforth at her office in King's London, on the strand, and we became completely immersed for an hour in all the nostalgia and pride and virtuosity of the December eclogue. Hannah - current president of the International Spenser Society - writes about English Renaissance literature, poetry in general, political thought and, in her first book, etymology. This last makes her a particular fan of our friend E.K. Stay until the end to find out her take on his identity.
This episode introduces Joseph Minden reading poems not only as Colin but as himself, because he is a poet in his own right, with one book (Poppy) available from Carcanet Press and another out with them next year. You'll hear him reading some of Paddock Calls, a long poem that circulates through the associative grids of nostalgia, teaching, learning and love. Just like, and very unlike, Spenser. He is accompanied by his once and eternal bandmates from Sweat.
Thank you to artist Karen Tilley for describing the woodcut, to Hannah Crawforth for sharing so many illuminating thoughts about December, to Joseph Minden for playing Colin and sharing his own work, to N.H. Chaundler for the latest response to Spenser. Thank you to the International Spenser Society for sponsoring this podcast, to Ella Mahony for the art, and to Femi Oriogun-Williams for mixing and mastering.
