In this month’s episode I talked with Professor Andrew Hadfield, of Sussex University, about the rich complexities of the seemingly simple July eclogue, peppered with fascinating information about Spenser’s social life and worldviews, more of which is to be found in Andrew’s book Edmund Spenser, A Life.
I also visited a beautiful farm where you can take a goat for a walk around the Sussex downs, to find out more about what it is really like to take care of goats, and live alongside them - often in very close proximity!
Thank you to Nell Howe for describing the woodcut, to Andrew Hadfield for sharing a representative sample of his vast Spenser knowledge in such an enjoyable form, and to Joseph Minden for playing the role of Thomalin. Thanks to N.L. Chaundler for the latest instalment of her poetic response to the Calender from the borderlands of Scotland, huge thank you to Jenny, Zara, Duncan and their family for welcoming me to Wilbees farm and introducing me to the goats, and to the lovely goats themselves [find out more about how to do a goat walk here]. Thank you as ever to Ella Mahony for the podcast art, and Femi Oriogun-Williams for incredibly skillful mixing, mastering and theme music.
Please send me your own sounds, suggestions and feedback at kma30@sussex.ac.uk with podcast in the subject line.
Take care!
Kat
