"Love and Death" is a literary criticism podcast from the London Review of Books' Close Readings series, in which academics Mark Ford and Seamus Perry offer erudite, conversational close readings of English-language elegiac poetry from the Renaissance to today. Each episode pairs poets across eras—Milton and Hopkins, Thom Gunn and Muldoon, Auden and Arnold—to trace how grief, outrage, and consolation are transmuted into verse. The tone is scholarly yet warm and accessible, blending biographical anecdote, historical context, and detailed textual analysis without academic jargon. Episodes often explore how poets mourn other poets, using elegy as a lens for meditating on mortality, artistic legacy, and emotional restraint versus expressiveness. Ideal for lovers of poetry, literature students, and cultured listeners interested in deep dives into classic and modern verse, the show rewards attentive listening and pairs well with supplementary reading links from the LRB. Part of a broader subscription-based series, it appeals to an audience seeking intellectually rich, slow-paced cultural commentary rather than quick takes.
"Love and Death" is a literary criticism podcast from the London Review of Books' Close Readings series, in which academics Mark Ford and Seamus Perry offer erudite, conversational close readings of English-language elegiac poetry from the Renaissance to today. Each episode pairs poets across eras—Milton and Hopkins, Thom Gunn and Muldoon, Auden and Arnold—to trace how grief, outrage, and consolation are transmuted into verse. The tone is scholarly yet warm and accessible, blending biographical anecdote, historical context, and detailed textual analysis without academic jargon. Episodes often explore how poets mourn other poets, using elegy as a lens for meditating on mortality, artistic legacy, and emotional restraint versus expressiveness. Ideal for lovers of poetry, literature students, and cultured listeners interested in deep dives into classic and modern verse, the show rewards attentive listening and pairs well with supplementary reading links from the LRB. Part of a broader subscription-based series, it appeals to an audience seeking intellectually rich, slow-paced cultural commentary rather than quick takes.
