'In A Bath Teashop' by John Betjeman
Day 14: A poem no one would expect you to like
The Laureate poems aren't among his best, and I'm not a royalist, but 'Rain Charm For The Duchy' by Ted Hughes is one of my very favourite poems. (Though given the subject matter - the moors and rivers of Devon - I suppose it's not that surprising.)
I haven't found the words online, but if you don't know it, don't be put off. This is no forelock-tugging paean to the Windsors. Please seek it out.
Day 15: A poem from your favourite anthology/collection
From Ted Hughes' and Seamus Heaney's 'The Rattle Bag', this is Lady Augusta Gregory's translation from the Gaelic of one of my very favourite poems, the 8th century 'Donal Óg'. I have a beautiful reading of it by Ted Hughes on cassette, but sadly I can't find it online.
(Methinks the Hughes estate should pull their collective finger out and make more of Hughes' work available online. And rectify the omission that sees Plath without even an official website.)
(Methinks the Hughes estate should pull their collective finger out and make more of Hughes' work available online. And rectify the omission that sees Plath without even an official website.)
Agree with your "methinks". I haven't found 'Rain Charm' online either, so is there a Hughes collection or "best of" you recommend? 'The Rattle Bag' is a start, judging by the beautiful Lady Gregory entry. And Betjeman had me looking up "inglenook".
ReplyDeleteI recommend Hughes' Collected Poems! It's a weighty tome, but it's been out for a while now, so I expect there are some second hand copies around.
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